About The Catalog
The Book of Mormon Art Catalog is an open access digital database of visual artwork inspired by the Book of Mormon, Church History, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price from the earliest 19th-century images to the present. It is a comprehensive resource, bringing together for the first time artwork from a range of public and private collections, museums, and the collections of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including some artwork that is not posted elsewhere. The Book of Mormon Art Catalog was created and is directed by Jennifer Champoux and made possible by generous support from the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies, part of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University.
It is our hope that this database will allow for further scholarship on Latter-day Saint art, new opportunities for artists to reach a broader audience and to engage with each other and with the art that has come before, and increased ability for members of the Church and other interested individuals to access and utilize a greater variety of visual sources for devotional purposes. We believe that an on-going gathering of Latter-day Saint scripture and history imagery in a central location can inspire new and varied artistic production, including scenes currently underrepresented in the art. Visual art has a powerful impact on how individuals think about scripture stories, doctrine, and history. Expanding the catalog of artistic depictions of Restoration history and scripture can allow for a broader range of interpretations and can illuminate new meaning in the minds of viewers.
What’s In The Catalog
Catalog entries for each artwork are annotated with information including artist, title, date, medium, dimensions, location, copyright, topic, scripture reference, figures, symbols, artist’s information, Church media use, exhibition history, awards, and relevant literature. Sources include the Church History Museum Collection, online exhibitions by the Church (including the International Art Competitions), Church magazines and manuals, Brigham Young University Museum of Art, Springville Museum of Art, Book of Mormon Central Art Contest online exhibitions, artist studios, commercial art galleries, and private collections.
We have attempted to include all known images based on the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, and Church history, with no judgment or exclusion based on their style, interpretive approach, or skill. Images included in this database do not necessarily represent the official views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of the Book of Mormon Art Catalog.
Meet Our Team
Director
Jennifer Champoux
Director
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Jennifer Champoux
Director
Jennifer Champoux is a scholar of Latter-day Saint visual art and a co-editor of Approaching the Tree: Interpreting 1 Nephi 8 (Neal A. Maxwell Institute). She has taught art history as adjunct faculty at Northeastern University, Emerson College, Emmanuel College, and Colorado Community Colleges Online. She holds an MA in art history from Boston University and a BA in international politics from Brigham Young University. Her scholarship on religious art has been published in several journals. She is the past vice president of Mormon Scholars in the Humanities, a founding board member of Colorado Faith Forums, and is currently writing a book on pioneer artist C. C. A Christensen for the Introductions to Mormon Thought series published by the University of Illinois Press. She lives in Colorado with her husband and three children.
Student Research Assistants
Noelle Baer
Research Assistant
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Noelle Baer
Research Assistant
2022
Noelle Baer served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Chile where she began to develop her deep love for the Book of Mormon. Between earning an art history degree at Brigham Young University and burying herself in the Special Collections items at the library, she also enjoys learning about people and experiencing diverse cultures by traveling locally and abroad. Noelle is especially interested in Mesoamerican art and codices as well as medieval manuscripts. With a Minor in Spanish, she is eager to cultivate international relationships through art.
Kelsey Barton
Research Assistant
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Kelsey Barton
Research Assistant
2024
Kelsey Barton, is a junior in art history at BYU. She loves to read, paint, be outside and spend time with family and friends.
Candace Brown
Research Assistant
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Candace Brown
Research Assistant
2021-2023
Candace Brown is a senior studying art history and curatorial studies at Brigham Young University. She has interned at the Springville Museum of Art as well as the BYU Museum of Art and is passionate about art’s power to connect individuals and communities to the Divine. When not looking at art, she loves to read and spend time with her nephews.
Elizabeth Finlayson
Research Assistant
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Elizabeth Finlayson
Research Assistant
2021-2023
Elizabeth Finlayson is an undergraduate student at Brigham Young University studying art history and curatorial studies. She loves spending her spare time in art museums and is currently a curatorial intern at BYU’s Museum of Art. Outside of work and school, Elizabeth loves music, design, and the outdoors.
Emma Belnap
Research Assistant
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Emma Belnap
Research Assistant
2022-2023
Emma Belnap is a junior studying art history and curatorial studies at Brigham Young University. After graduating, Emma plans to pursue her PhD in art history and to work in the academic field. A native of Phoenix, Arizona, she enjoys reading, running, going to museums, and learning about new people and cultures.
Aliza Keller
Research Assistant
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Aliza Keller
Research Assistant
2022-2023
Aliza Keller is an undergraduate studying art education and art history at Brigham Young University. Her love of both art and the Book of Mormon began at a young age, and she does everything she can to incorporate each into her life. She is currently working at the BYU Museum of Art and is progressing towards earning a teaching license with which she hopes to teach art and art history in middle schools.
Lucy Lacanienta
Research Assistant
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Lucy Lacanienta
Research Assistant
2023-2024
Lucy Lacanienta is a student at Brigham Young University pursuing her undergraduate degree in art history and curatorial studies. She loves her studies, particularly those relating to Christianity and Christian art, and believes that art can aid an individual’s pursuit of faith through the powerful combination of image and word. Beyond art, she loves rock climbing, painting, and traveling.
Lauryn Platt
Research Assistant
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Lauryn Platt
Research Assistant
2024
Lauryn Platt is a student at Brigham Young University studying art history and curatorial studies with a minor in communications. She loves how art teaches and provides deeper understanding into the human experience. When she is not studying or working, she loves to spend time with her husband and family, be outside, travel, and spend time with her friends.
Grace Truett
Research Assistant
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Grace Truett
Research Assistant
2024
Grace Truett is studying art history and curatorial studies at Brigham Young University with minors in Global Studies and Music. She plans to pursue graduate school. Grace is passionate about mixing the spiritual with the secular, especially within art, and appreciates those who are engaged in the same cause. She enjoys reading, traveling, playing piano, and looking at art always.
Landon Wilson
Research Assistant
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Landon Wilson
Research Assistant
2024
Landon Wilson is an art history student at Brigham Young University. He plans to pursue an academic career in art history and hopes to become a professor in that field. His research interests include syncretic relationships between religions, Spain and its colonies, and medieval art. He enjoys hiking, camping, painting, and carpentry.
Lucy Anderson
Research Assistant
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Lucy Anderson
Research Assistant
2024
Lucy Anderson is a student at Brigham Young University studying Art History and Curatorial Studies. She finds art enriching as it expands her world view and deepens her understanding of the human psyche. Outside of her passion for art, Lucy finds joy in travelling, hitting the slopes for skiing adventures, and indulging in the art of baking desserts.
Definition Of Art Terms
Visual arts are defined here as including painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, textile, ceramic, carving, pottery, photography, computer graphics, installation, video and film, and mixed media.
For purposes of this database, an artwork’s style is categorized according to the following definitions. Quoted definitions are from Mark Getlein, Living with Art 11 ed, (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education, 2016), 549-553.
Figurative:
“Descriptive of a work of art that depicts forms in the natural world.” Used here in a broad sense of representational art that depicts objects found in the real world. May or may not include human figures.
Abstract:
“Descriptive of art in which the forms of the visual world are purposefully simplified, fragmented, or otherwise distorted.”
Nonrepresentational:
“Descriptive of art that does not represent or otherwise refer to the visible world outside itself.”
Installation:
“An art form in which an entire room or similar space is treated as a work of art to be entered and experienced.”
Performance:
“An event or action carried out by an artist and offered as art.”
Folk:
Art that draws on traditional or regional styles, materials, or craftsmanship.
Renewed and Enriched
“Scripture is generative. It demands to be retold, explored, applied to one's life, and facilitate new encounters with God. We can usefully think of what scripture generates as a part of its life in the world. Scripture also evokes artistic responses, which have profound interpretative and aesthetic power. The Book of Mormon Art Catalog is where readers, teachers, parents and scholars go to learn more about the visual afterlives of the Book of Mormon. It is a vital resource. Not only does it grow as new art is produced, but we grow through it as our perception of the Book of Mormon is renewed and enriched.”
– Kristian Heal, Research Fellow & Interim Executive Director, Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University
Blending the Scholarly and the Inspiring
“This resource is game-changing for scholars of the Book of Mormon and Latter-day Saint art. It also has the potential to stir Latter-day Saint readers of scripture, too, whose vision can expand in tandem with the artists' perspectives featured here. This remarkable monument to the expansive and creativepotentialof scripture tochallenge us to see the world differently can lift our gaze to others, to the past, and to the divine influence and possibilities that weave through it all. This archive is a welcomed and timely blending of the scholarly and the inspiring. It's a resource I'm glad both Saints and scholars now have at their fingertips.”
– J. Spencer Fluhman, Executive Director, Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University
A Tremendous Resource
“The Book of Mormon Art Catalog is a tremendous resource in its own right. But it is more than simply that. It also helps both researchers and believers shatter stale, tedious stereotypes in order to imagine the Book of Mormon in fresh and striking ways. The database, in short, reveals anew the complexity and importance of the text as a signal artifact of American religious history.”
– Matthew Bowman, Associate Professor of Religion and History andHoward W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University and author ofThe Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith
A Landmark Achievement
“It's hard to overstate the landmark achievement of the Book of Mormon Art Catalog. I'm a firm believer that religious art stretches our spiritual imagination, helping us see more capacious possibilities for how scripture speaks to us and how God is present in our lives. I've felt my own imagination expanded by the rich resources of the catalog, and I plan to return to it over and over again in my professional and personal work on the Book of Mormon. Whether you are a professional scholar, a CES or Sunday School teacher, a parent, or simply a reader of the Book of Mormon--you need this catalog.”
– Kimberly Matheson, Research Fellow at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute and author of Helaman: A Brief Theological Introduction
A Revolutionary Project
“Thanks to libraries and booksellers, it's been relatively easy to learn what scholars have written about the Book of Mormon. Dramatically more difficult has been knowing how to learn how visual artists have imagined stories, scenes, and passages from the Book of Mormon. Book of Mormon art has grown exponentially recently, just as Book of Mormon scholarship has, and the need for something like theBook of Mormon Art Catalog has grown with every passing year. Thanks to the indefatigable efforts of Jenny Champoux and her assistants, artists, scholars, and other interested folks can now begin to study the ways that Book of Mormon lovers have brought this scripture into the visual media. I fully expect this project to revolutionize our understanding of how the Saints have been sitting with the keystone of their religion.”
– Joseph M. Spencer, Assistant Professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University, editor of the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, and author of The Anatomy of Book of Mormon Theology
An Enriching and Diverse Trove of Images
“The Book of Mormon Art Catalog will be a tremendous boon to all those who study the Book of Mormon for any reason. Personal readers will find their meditation enriched by the imaginative worlds opened in each image. Teachers of the Book of Mormon will find images appealing to any age group to supplement their lessons. Scholars will find fruitful fodder not only to trace the Book of Mormon's popular reception, but also to stimulate their own exegetical and interpretive processes. The diversity of artistic perspectives represented in the catalog does justice to the breadth of the book's readership. Like the beautiful stained glass panels from which believers once learned the stories of the Bible and mediated on their meaning, this trove of images will both aid personal learning and contribute to the development of the Book of Mormon as a cultural touchstone for global Latter-day Saints and readers of world scripture generally.”
– Rosalynde Welch, Associate Director, Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University and author of Ether: A Brief Theological Introduction
See the Book of Mormon
“Don't just read the Book of Mormon, learn toseeit through the borrowed eyes of artists who love these same texts. Visit, explore, and share the Book of Mormon Art Catalog.”
– Adam S. Miller, author ofOriginal GraceandLetters to a Young Mormon
Momentous and Exhaustive
“Mesmerizing, momentous, exhaustive, and long overdue! The Book of Mormon Art Catalog is packed with inspiring artists, and the range of mediums and styles is stunning. It would take a lifetime to properly study them all. I am so excited to incorporate this site into my Sabbath Day traditions.”
– Annie Poon, artist and animator
A Benefit to Scholars, Teachers, and Enthusiasts
“The Book of Mormon Art Catalog is an incredible resource for those interested in the visual culture of latter-day scripture. It brings together Book of Mormon imagery from the earliest decades to the present day with such a variety of media and approaches, to benefit scholars, teachers, enthusiasts…everyone! This database is a gem.”
– Ashlee Whitaker, Head Curator and the Roy & Carol Christensen Curator of Religious Art at the Brigham Young University Museum of Art
Bringing Diversity to Latter-day Saint Art
“The Book of Mormon Art Catalog is an incredible resource for anyone seeking to be inspired. One of its greatest strengths is the awareness it brings to the diversity of Latter-day Saint art. By honoring the religious imagination of artists from a variety of cultures and backgrounds, it amplifies and makes more accessible a wider range of voices testifying of God and scripture through art.”
– Daniel Becerra, Assistant Professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University and author of 3rd, 4th Nephi: A Brief Theological Introduction
Integrating Scholarship and Art
“This is a fabulous resource that will bring scores of deserving artists to the attention of the broader LDS audience and allow for a greater future integration of Book of Mormon scholarship and art.”
– Terryl Givens, Senior Research Fellow, Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University and author of People of Paradox: A History of Mormon Culture
Portending a New Era of Artistic Inspiration
“What does a visual art image or object inspired by the Book of Mormon look like? For many, the default is to Church-commissioned illustrations, but there is much, much more. The Book of Mormon Art Catalog seeks to be a grand aggregation of global responses to a sacred book through art. Illustration is only a starting point; there are many ways to draw art from the scriptures. This searchable, useful, aspirational catalog portends a new era of viewer enjoyment, devotional exploration, academic scholarship, and artistic inspiration.”
– Glen Nelson, co-founder, Center for Latter-day Saint Arts
Preserving Our Artistic Traditions
“This database constitutes a major contribution to the field of LDS art and art history. The Book of Mormon Art Catalog not only serves as a critical repository for Book of Mormon art, but also facilitates further exploration of the richness and diversity of Latter-day Saint visual art. I cannot commend Champoux and her assistants enough for undertaking the important work of preserving our artistic traditions and promoting its place in our history, our culture, our study, and our worship.”
– Heather Belnap, Associate Professor of Art History & Curatorial Studies, Brigham Young University
A Renaissance of Latter-day Saint Art
“I applaud the creators of the Book of Mormon Art Catalog for initiating a veritable renaissance or rebirth of Latter-day Saint art. This visual resource is a tremendous boon for faithful Latter-day Saint artists. The catalog is a highly visible platform for showcasing the work of both the educated and uneducated, the professional and the amateur. Thanks to Jenny Champoux and her research staff, LDS publishers, writers, designers, and devoted church members can look to the catalog for inspired art of Latter-day Saint scripture. The Book of Mormon Catalog is thus a formative milestone for advancing Book of Mormon-themed art.”
– Noel A. Carmack, associate professor of art, Utah State University Eastern and author of "‘A Picturesque and Dramatic History’: George Reynolds' Story of the Book of Mormon,” BYU Studies Quarterly (2008).
Citing This Website
Citation for Bibliographies
The Book of Mormon Art Catalog http://bookofmormonartcatalog.org/.
Citing Individual Artworks
[Caption of Artwork], The Book of Mormon Art Catalog, accessed [date], [URL].
