Larry E. Elsner was born in Gooding, Idaho in 1930.  He is considered to be one of Utah’s best modernist ceramic sculptors.  He died in Logan, Utah in 1990.

Elsner attended the University of Idaho from 1948 to 1951 followed by service in the United States Navy (1953–55).  He graduated from Utah State University in 1957 and continued his studies under Oronzio Maldarelli at Columbia University where he earned his MFA in 1958. He studied metalworking at Cranbrook Academy in Michigan in 1958.   During the 1960s and 1970s Elsner’s study of sculpture expanded and accelerated.  He built upon the contributions of Henry Moore, Pablo Picasso, and other modernist sculptors. 

In 1960 he joined the faculty of Utah State University as an instructor of three-dimensional art. Throughout his career he was the recipient of many local and national awards.  In 1962, he won the Ford Foundation Purchase Award in sculpture at the Salt Lake Art Center; he also won three merit awards at the Utah Designer Craftsman Show.  In 1987, he received the Artist of the Year award from Utah State University and a purchase award from the Utah Arts Council.  Head (1975), a bronze sculpture, is featured in the Utah Arts Council collection. Opus and Handpot (1983) are examples of his work.

Biographical information on this page was adapted from Artists of Utah.