116 Facts About Mahonri Young

Mahonri Mackintosh Young was an American social-realist sculptor and artist.

Mahonri Young's work includes landscapes, portraits, busts, life-size sculptures, monuments, and engravings.

Mahonri Young felt this made his work more natural as compared to using a model in the studio.

Mahonri Young was fairly commercially successful during his life, though he did not find success until his mid-30s.

Mahonri Young was introduced to art by his father at an early age.

Mahonri Young quit school at seventeen years old and worked engraving and portrait making jobs at various newspapers in Salt Lake City to make money for art lessons and for art school in New York and later, Paris.

Mahonri Young lived most of his life in New York City where he became associated with "The Eight" and the Ashcan School.

Mahonri Young ignited his commercial success in New York; however, arguably two of his most famous works, the This Is The Place Monument and the Seagull Monument are featured prominently in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Mahonri Mackintosh Young was born on August 9,1877, in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory.

Mahonri Young was the oldest child of Mahonri Moriancumer Young, owner of Deseret Woolen Mill which he had inherited from his father Brigham Young, and Agnes Mackintosh.

Mahonri Young enjoyed the time he spent living in rural Utah at the factory; he considered this his "golden age" in Utah.

Mahonri Young's mother came from a polygamist marriage in the Midwestern United States.

Mahonri Young's parents had attended the University of Deseret together.

Mahonri Young's twin brothers, Winfield Scott and Waldemar were born on July 1,1880; they grew to be successful, a newspaperman and a screenwriter respectively.

Mahonri Young's father died when he was about seven years old.

Mahonri Young's family moved into a small house in Salt Lake City where Young began school.

Mahonri Young spent time reading and studying about art, making friends with other young, aspiring artists.

Mahonri Young created his first sculpture when he was thirteen.

At a young age, Mahonri Young found formal education to be a waste of time.

Mahonri Young said that the only thing he learned that was of any value to him was that he should look at the point where a line would end rather than the point of the pencil.

Mahonri Young was athletic and participated in baseball and football teams.

Mahonri Young developed his interest in nature and bird watching which further influenced themes and subjects of his art.

Mahonri Young's uncle introduced Young to ranch life, in which he became extremely interested.

Mahonri Young's mother was adamant that he pursue a different career.

Mahonri Young learned about the art style of Jean-Francois Millet from reading magazines, which taught him about form, space, light, and movement in art.

An article about Millet convinced Mahonri Young to quit school, get a job, and take art lessons.

Rather than attend ninth grade, Mahonri Young chose to pursue an artistic education under local artist James Taylor Harwood, John Hafen, and Edwin Evans.

Mahonri Young initially applied to the University of Utah, but his application was denied because he had not graduated high school.

Harwood was unimpressed by Mahonri Young, believing that he was a lazy artist and did not work hard.

Mahonri Young's philosophy was that there is no virtue in working hard, but rather thinking hard.

Furthermore, Mahonri Young liked to quickly sketch an observation which he would later turn into a drawing, but being a traditionalist, Harwood viewed this technique as cheating and an "artistic crime".

Mahonri Young was not trained in sculpture and had not sculpted since he was five years old.

Mahonri Young saved money earned as a Salt Lake Tribune portrait artist, but took his subsequent demotion to an engraver as a blow to his ego.

In New York, Mahonri Young was fascinated by the Industrial Revolution and decided that he would make art to reflect the themes of the Industrial Revolution.

At the Art Students League, Mahonri Young took classes with George Bridgeman and Kenyon Cox.

Mahonri Young began using realist techniques; he would look at artistic models quickly and then attempt to draw his or her memorized features.

Mahonri Young lived on a tight budget and spent most of his time studying or attending art exhibits.

In Salt Lake City, Mahonri Young worked for the Salt Lake Herald as an engraver and did some drawings for Deseret News.

Mahonri Young received extra money to study from his mother who had arranged for a settlement of a part of Brigham Mahonri Young's estate as well as donations from family and members of the LDS Church.

Mahonri Young studied until 1905, where he studied with Jean-Paul Laurens and Jean-Antoine Injalbert.

Unimpressed by the traditional styles taught in Paris, Mahonri Young did not believe he learned anything at the Academie in France until 1903, when he was able to work more independently and develop his realistic style.

Mahonri Young started studying painting and after achieving personal goals painting and after more artistic education from a trip to Italy, he returned to studying sculpture and etching in 1903.

Mahonri Young indicated that one must learn to be thick skinned in class to be able to withstand the criticism of both professors and other students.

Mahonri Young found that he could not stomach anatomy classes at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, not because of cadavers, because he had not yet made it to that point in the lectures, but because of the overwhelming stench of un-showered students and sweat which gave him unbearable headaches.

Mahonri Young did not agree with the use of models in his sculpting, because he believed it took away from the naturalness of the piece.

Mahonri Young nervously sent Man Tired and The Shoveler to the American Art Association show in 1903 and achieved great success.

Mahonri Young's sculptures were featured in the Paris Herald in an article about the American Art Association show.

Mahonri Young's sculptures were sent to the New Salon in Paris for liberal art, were placed in the main gallery, and received critical acclaim.

Mahonri Young spent all of his time looking at art in exhibitions or sketching on the street which garnered him criticism from his classmates for being lazy.

Mahonri Young felt that he could learn more by observing rather than by working and studying in the studio.

In New York, on his way to Paris, Mahonri Young participated in an amateur boxing match and broke his thumb which prevented him from sculpting for a few months, so he attempted water coloring instead.

Mahonri Young had some modeled drawings hung in the Paris Old Salon, which led him to experiment drawing with more models.

Mahonri Young frequently used this man Bovet-Arthur as a model for his work while he was in Paris.

Mahonri Young did a parody piece called The Toilet, but it was never exhibited, and Mahonri Young destroyed it in 1905.

Mahonri Young destroyed some other work that was not accepted to salons.

Mahonri Young later admitted regretting destroying his work and never destroyed another piece.

Mahonri Young returned to Utah in 1905, needing to find a way to make a living.

Mahonri Young's first commission was a butter sculpture for Frost Creamery for the Utah State Fair called The Dairy Maid.

Later, Mahonri Young established a mildly successful art class at the YMCA, but the class was canceled after one of his students started an art club that took away his students in 1906.

Mahonri Young finally received more commission when he and Lee Greene Richards completed a mural for the Isis Movie Theatre, using themselves as models for the characters.

However, news stories about the murals kept being killed, leading Mahonri Young to believe there was a conspiracy against realist artists.

Consequently, Mahonri Young found it difficult to sell or exhibit his work in the United States.

Mahonri Young found little success during his first five years back in the United States.

Mahonri Young improved his reputation by making a bust of Alfred Lambourne.

Mahonri Young initially seen Sharp while both in Paris where Sharp had been studying piano; they had not yet met and Sharp had to travel back to Utah due to her father's health began to fail.

Mahonri Young and Sharp's first child, Cecelia Agnes Mahonri Young, known as "Agnes" or "Aggie", was born on April 25,1908.

Continually aware of the revolt of "The Eight", Mahonri Young traveled to New York in 1908 and 1909 to determine whether he could be successful in New York.

Mahonri Young instead sculpted a frieze to go above the LDS Gymnasium.

Mahonri Young felt that he could relate to the styles and the goals of "The Eight", so he and his family moved to New York in 1910.

In New York, Mahonri Young was a founding member of the Society of American Etchers.

Mahonri Young did not find success until 1912, which was a turning point in his career.

In 1911, Mahonri Young won the Helen Foster Barnett prize for Bovet-Arthur a Laborer, displayed at the National Academy.

Mahonri "Bill" Sharp Young was born on July 23,1911, in New York.

Mahonri Young visited Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah to get inspiration and then returned to New York to complete the project with his colleague Howard MacCormick.

Mahonri Young was offered some commission to create dioramas for Navajo and Apache tribes as well.

Mahonri Young believed the emerging styles of surrealism and abstract expressionism that began to appear later in his life were "a greater threat than Communism".

In 1915 Mahonri Young became a member of The Brooklyn Society of Etchers.

Cecelia Sharp died of cancer in 1917 after which Mahonri Young returned to Paris to continue studying art.

Tarleton and Mahonri Young maintained a romantic relationship for a few years.

Tarleton, 27 years his junior, confessed her love to Mahonri Young but refused his many marriage proposals.

In 1923, Mahonri Young was elected to the National Academy of Design as an Academician.

In 1924, Mahonri Young unveiled his Navajo statues at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

In 1929, Mahonri Young crafted a bronze of Joe Gans for Winfield Sheehan, a Fox Film executive at the time.

Mahonri Young maintained a studio at the Weir estate which has become Weir Farm National Historic Site.

Mahonri Young first met Weir at 1921 at a dinner to discuss plans for the Phillips Memorial Gallery, one of the books for the gallery was intended to be dedicated to Weir's father.

When Mahonri Young returned to Paris to teach and work on his art from 1925 to 1927, they were reacquainted and became friends.

In 1932, Mahonri Young competed in the Art competitions at the 1932 Summer Olympics with eight boxing statues.

Mahonri Young had a unique relationship with the LDS Church.

Largely considered to be his most important artistic work, Mahonri Young was especially proud of This Is The Place Monument located at This Is the Place Heritage Park in the foothills of Salt Lake City.

Mahonri Young did extensive research and sketching for the project, confident he would be awarded the chance to create the monument.

Mahonri Young decided to lobby US senators from Utah to gained federal funding for the project which offended committee member John D Giles.

Mahonri Young was awarded $50,000 to build the monument in 1939 when he was 62 years old.

For example, Mahonri Young wanted pioneer leaders in realistic clothing like they would have worn when entering the Salt Lake Valley on July 24,1847.

Mahonri Young worked on the statues at Weir farm, assisted by Spero Anargyros.

The monument was dedicated on July 24,1947, on the one-hundredth anniversary of Brigham Mahonri Young's party reaching the Great Salt Lake Valley.

Mahonri Young was angry when he was denied the money and eventually became frustrated enough to write to the president of the LDS Church George A Smith directly.

George Q Morris of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles severely reprimanded Young for contacting Smith and Young was never paid the extra $11,000.

Mahonri Young resented this alleged contract breach for the rest of his life.

In 1947, Mahonri Young was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Mahonri Young created a six-foot monument of Brigham Young seated for the Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol Building.

Mahonri Young carved this work at the American Academy in Rome, Italy.

In 1955, Mahonri Young participated in the Armory Show Commemorative Exhibition in New York City.

In January 1957, Mahonri Young had a serious stroke and in October 1957, he had an ulcer attack.

Mahonri Young died in Norwalk, Connecticut, on November 2,1957, from the result of bleeding ulcers complicated by pneumonia; he was eighty years old.

Mahonri Young was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery at the Young family plot, next to Cecelia Young.

Consequently, Mahonri Young's work is often associated with social realism, as his work depicted laborers, immigrants, minorities, the West, and man's interaction with nature.

At the time, Mahonri Young felt isolated by his traditionalist instructors and colleagues who penned Mahonri Young's work as "dishonest".

Mahonri Young's most recurring subject matter included animals, Native Americans, the boxing ring, ranch life, and laborers.

Mahonri Young greatly admired the work of Cyrus Dallin and Mahonri Young's work often had parallels to that of Dallin's.

Mahonri Young was versatile in his subject matter and methods, yet his works were united in "powerful elegance".

Mahonri Young was proficient in various mediums and techniques such as etching, drawing, watercolor, oil, gouache, and sculpture, which included his lesser known work on medals and reliefs.

Mahonri Young excelled in "depicting figures in motion" and "the psychological nuances of gesture".

Rather than emphasize light, appearance, and technical skill as had prevailed in traditionalist art, Mahonri Young preferred to emphasize rhythm, balance, movement, form, and design.

Mahonri Young's career lasted more than fifty years with his works displayed in over fifty museums and galleries in the United States and Europe.

Mahonri Young was the first Utah artist to have his work displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

In 1999, the Brigham Young University Museum of Art in Provo, Utah opened a year-long exhibition of Mahonri Young's work called "Mahonri: A Song of Joys".