Robert Marshall: Mormon Artist
Robert Marshall was a painter and emeritus professor of art at Brigham Young University. While at BYU, he served as chair of the Department of Visual Arts from 1985 to 1997. He retired from teaching in July 2008.
Marshall was part of the team of painters commissioned to paint murals for the reconstructed Nauvoo Temple. Working under the direction of Frank Magleby, Marshall worked with fellow artists James C. Christensen, Douglas Fryer, Gary Ernest Smith, and Chris Young who became known as Frank’s Boys. Marshall, Christensen, Fryer, and Smith also created the murals for the instruction rooms in the Provo City Center Temple. Marshall’s daughter-in-law Downy Doxey-Marshall assisted him in his work. He underwent surgery for a health problem while under deadline for the mural.
He was born in Mesquite, Nevada, in 1944 and grew up in southern California. He earned his bachelor’s degree in art and his master’s degree in painting and sculpture from BYU. He taught briefly at Fullerton College before he joined the faculty of BYU. He has exhibited throughout the US and Europe and is the recipient of many awards. In 1994 he was honored with the Karl G. Maeser Research and Creative Arts Award. In 2001 he was designated to hold the Susa Young Gates Professorship at the University. In 2003 he received the Higher Education Art Educator of the Year Award from the Utah Art Education Association. In 2013 he received the Governor’s Visual Artist Award in recognition of his contribution to the State of Utah.
He was an accomplished draftsman and was skilled in color theory, filmmaking, and contemporary art history. He was originally known for his watercolor landscapes, but later began working with oils on large canvases. He made a documentary film about painter C.C.A. Christensen.
He lived with his family in Springville, Utah. He died after a long illness on August 20, 2016.
