It is February and weather does not invite long trips, but we don’t have to go far to visit the landmark Springville Museum of Art.
The City of Springville is known as “Art City” because of its history of promoting the visual arts and home to Utah’s oldest museum of art. There are eight art museums in Utah and the Springville Museum of Art is considered one of the best.
The museum houses more than 2,000 works art, of which 1,500 were created by Utah artists. This artwork represents 150 years of history arranged in chronological order to show the development of art in Utah. The museum has a gallery devoted to Russian artwork.
The History of art movement in Springville goes back to 1903 when John Hafen and Cyrus E. Dallin donated a collection of paintings and sculptures to the Art Committee of Springville Schools.
In 1907 the faculty and students at Springville High School began fund raising for the purchase of artwork for their school.
In 1925 the Springville High School Art Association was established for the protection, collection, and presentation of fine art to coincide with the donation of 65 art pieces by Emma and George Smart. The museum was built as a depression era Works Progress Administration project in a Spanish Colonial Revival design and completed in 1937.
The west wing of the building was added in 1964 with donations from the Hyrum Smith and Elanora Johnson Clyde families. The building was transferred from the Nebo School District to the city of Springville in 1975. It was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1986.
The Springville Museum of Art includes 29 galleries and a sculpture garden. Admission is free and the museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Wednesday evening they are open until 9 p.m.
A special event that begins in February is the 48th Annual Utah All-State High School Art Exhibit, which opens Feb. 8 with a public reception 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The high school exhibit will be on display through March 20.
The Springville Museum of Art is a great place to take the family on a cold winter day in February, or any time you want to see some amazing artwork, so put the Springville Museum of Art on your calendar as a destination to visit in February. (Helmick is a Serve Daily contributor.)
