John Hafen

John Hafen (1856-1910) was a Mormon artist in the 19th Century and the first one to hold the view that Utah artists needed to travel to Europe to study in the art salons there.

Hafen was born in Scherzingen, Switzerland. His parents joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and moved to Utah. When they first came to Utah they lived in Payson. In 1868 Hafen began attending the 20th Ward Academy in Salt Lake City, where one of the main teachers was Karl G. Maeser. He learned painting from George Ottinger and Dan Weggeland. Another student in this school was Lorus Pratt.

Hafen was one of the founders of the Utah Art Association in 1881.

In 1890, Hafen, Pratt and John B. Fairbanks were sent to Paris as art missionaries by the church. At this point he left his wife, Thora Twede Hafen, and their five children in Springville. [http://www.byui.edu/Presentations/transcripts/majorforums/2006_01_19_andersen.htm] After they completed their studies they returned to Utah and created murals in the Salt Lake Temple.

After returning from France Hafen's main focus was on landscape painting. He donated paintings to Springville that were the initial basis of the Springville Art Museum.

Hafen was a professor at Brigham Young Academy. He lived in Springville, in a home designed by Alberto O. Treganza.

ources

* [http://www.lib.utah.edu/fa/UtahArtists/artists/hafen/index.html Utah Artists Project bio of Hafen]
* [http://www.lib.utah.edu/fa/UtahArtists/artists/hafen/bio01_hafen_2006-09-09.html Longer bio on Hafen]