L'Deane Minor Trueblood was born in Norman, Oklahoma in 1928. She is an impressionist watercolorist and realist sculptor who is best known for her bronze sculptures of children. She lives in St. George, Utah.

Trueblood earned a BFA from the University of Oklahoma and an MA from Oklahoma City University. Following her education, she worked as an illustrator, junior high school teacher, and director of arts and crafts for the U.S. Air Force in Germany.

Trueblood's works, SARAI (1986), The Storyteller (1990), and Waiting Her Turn (1990) are included in the Springville Museum of Art permanent collection. She was also guest artist at the Springville Museum's 74 th annual salon.

Biographical information on this page was adapted from Artists of Utah and from information provided by the artist.

Known as a person who loves people, L'Deane Minor Trueblood, now a resident of Bloomington, Utah, has become an international traveler in search of people as subjects for her paintings and sculptures.

L'Deane Trueblood was born in 1928 in Norman, Oklahoma. She was raised in a family of original territory homesteaders not far from a Native American Cherokee tribe. She credits her grandfather for teaching her respect for the Native American culture, and she still uses these people as favorite subjects for her art.

With roots in teaching, L'Deane's parents were supportive of her art education. L'Deane's remarkable art talents were recognized early by her teachers and friends. After receiving many awards during her junior and high school years, L'Deane enrolled in college as a fashion design major. However, in her second year at the University of Oklahoma, she recognized her love for three-dimensional art under the guidance of Professor Joseph Taylor. Some of L'Deane's drawings and sculptures were retained by the University for its permanent art collection.

L'Deane graduated with honors and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and later became experienced as an illustrator, junior high school teacher, and director of art and crafts for the U.S. Air Force in Germany. While in Germany, she met and married captain and jet-fighter pilot Roger Trueblood. From that time until her three children were raised, she devoted most of her time to the needs of her family.

Since moving to Utah, she has gained a master's degree in education and operated a Montessori school in St. George. Trueblood has studied under renowned watercolorist Charles Reid, and she has become a prominent watercolor artist herself, known throughout the United States and Canada. She is also a talented sculptor, as demonstrated by her busts of Dr. Armand Hammer, and the past president of Dixie College, Douglas Alder, and the pieces featured here, Waiting Her Turn, and The Storyteller.

At the age when most people retire, L'Deane Trueblood moved into high gear, traveling nationwide to do portraits in bronze and watercolor. She was a charter member of the Southwest Utah Arts Council and has served as secretary to the Council. She was selected for membership in the Pen and Brush Club of New York City, one of the nation's oldest organizations for women artists. In 1978 and 1979, she originated and directed the "Kaleidoscope of Arts for Kids" program in Washington County, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and by the Utah Arts Council. She has won numerous awards throughout the United States and is recognized as a prominent figurative sculptor and painter. L'Deane Trueblood's major contribution to the arts is her concentration on depicting children.

Biography courtesy of The Springville Museum of Art.

Newspaper Articles

"Art in the Garden is the Theme of the Annual Flower & Patio Show, Where All Manner of Accents that Charm the Eye Will Be on Display. The Garden as a Canvas." Indianapolis Star, March 7, 1999.

"Art Show in Capitol." The Deseret News, September 14, 2003.

"Climate Right for Visual Arts in '88-at Least 14 Galleries Opened." The Deseret News, January 8, 1989.

"Dixie Show Provides Quality Artwork and Lots of Southern (Utah Hospitality)." The Deseret News, February 25, 1990.

"Fine Arts." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 29, 2003.

"Few Artists Clear 1st Hurdle in Juried Show." The Deseret News, June 17, 1990.

"Galleries Adding Color to Old Mining Town." The Deseret News, July 23, 2000.

"Gallery is an Oasis for Utah Artists from Bronzes to Oils, Head to California for State Art." The Salt Lake Tribune, May 22, 1994.

"Galleries." The Deseret News, December 22, 1991.

"Galleries Feature Art for All Ages." The Deseret News, September 23, 1990.

"Galleries Going Strong in August Tivoli Expanding Works to Include Quilts, Antiques." The Deseret News, August 20, 1989.

"Gallery Exhibits Offer Wide Array of Artwork to Suit any Pleasure." The Deseret News, June 4, 1989.

"Go Wild with Bronze Art for your Patio." Arizona Republic, July 19, 2000.

"Industrialist Hopes for `New Millennium of Peace'." The Deseret News, April 19, 1990.

"Lighting Makes All the Difference in Enjoyment of Gallery Exhibits." The Deseret News, March 5, 1989.

"People in the Arts: Board, Staff Changes." The Deseret News, July 31, 1988.

"Showing at Local Galleries." The Deseret News, June 27, 2004.

"Showing at Local Galleries." The Deseret News, December 16, 2001.

"Showing at Local Galleries." The Deseret News, February 7, 1999.

"S.L. Galleries Safe From Wrecking Ball Exhibits Still Sparkle Despite Dust From Block 57 Demolition." The Deseret News, April 1, 1990.

"Spring Salon Open to All Styles of Art '90 Exhibit at Springville Museum is Truly a Full-Spectrum Show." The Deseret News, May 6, 1990.

"Trueblood's Art on Display in St. George." The Deseret News, January 17, 1999.

"Utah's Talent Showcase." The Deseret News, October 8, 2000.

"Utah Marquee: Visual Art." The Salt Lake Tribune, September 12, 2003.

"Visual Arts a Photographer's Gold Mine." The Salt Lake Tribune, March 20, 1992.

Books

Dunbier, Lonnie Pierson, ed. The Artists Bluebook: 29,000 North American Artists. Scottsdale, AZ: AskART.com, 2003.

Olpin, Robert S., William C. Seifrit, and Vern G. Swanson. Artists of Utah. Salt Lake City, UT: Gibbs Smith Publisher, 1999.

Swanson, Vern G., Robert S. Olpin, and William C. Seifrit. Utah Paintings and Sculpture. Salt Lake City, UT: Gibbs Smith Publishers, 1991.

Periodicals

Art Talk. "In the Galleries." Art Talk, June, 1998.

Bucher, Kristin. "L'Deane Trueblood." Southwest Art, July 2002.

Busler, Leslie and B. Gangelhoff. "Best of the West." Southwest Art, June 1999.

Fauntleroy, Gussie. "Women in the Arts." Southwest Art, June 2000.