- Dennis Smith (sculptor)
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Dennis V. Smith (born 1942) is an American sculptor. He is a Latter-day Saint and some of his artwork deals with LDS themes.
He is most noted in LDS circles for having created the statues that form the monument to women in Nauvoo.
From 1961-1963 Smith served as an LDS missionary in Denmark. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1966.[1]
Smith began his art production in 1968, working in his father's chicken coop.[2]
Smith created a sculpture named "Christina" that is named for his Danish immigrant great-grandmother and is in Copenhagen that portrays her having a strong faith.[3] There is also a casting on "Christina" in the Statue Garden at Brigham Young University between the Museum of Art and the Harris Fine Arts Center.
Another one of his statues, this one in Rebild, Denmark represents an LDS emigrant family about to depart Denmark.[4]
There are also works by Smith in the Salt Lake International Airport and Primary Children's Medical Center.[1]
In 1989 Smith's "Signing of the Constitution" sculpture was placed in US embassies in Moscow and London due to a donation of money from Richard Headlee.
Smith's In The Family Circle was given to Joan Bolger, wife of New Zealand's prime minister James Bolger by Richard G. Scott and other church representatives in 1996.[5]
He studio is located in Alpine, Utah and a long time resident of Highland, Utah.
His "First Step" statue has also been presented to many dignitaries by the church, including president George H. W. Bush.[6]
References
- LDS Church News September 30, 1989
- ^ a b A Sense of Place, A Sense of Family: Artist Creates Sculptures for Denmark
- ^ Dennis Smith - Artist, Art - Dennis V. Smith
- ^ LDS Church News, May 29, 2004
- ^ LDS Church News, August 11, 2001
- ^ LDS Church News, August 24, 1996
- ^ LDS Church News, July 25, 1992
Categories:- 1942 births
- Mormon missionaries in Denmark
- Brigham Young University alumni
- American sculptors
- American Latter Day Saints
- Living people
- American Mormon missionaries
- 20th-century Mormon missionaries
- American people of Danish descent
- Danish diaspora
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