Larry E. Elsner was born in Gooding, Idaho in 1930. He is considered to be one of Utah's best modernist ceramic sculptors. He died in Logan, Utah in 1990.

Elsner attended the University of Idaho from 1948 to 1951 followed by service in the United States Navy from 1953 to 1955. He graduated from Utah State University in 1957 and continued his studies under Oronzio Maldarelli at Columbia University where he earned his MFA in 1958.

Throughout his career he was the recipient of many local and national awards. In 1962, he won the Ford Foundation Purchase Award in sculpture at the Salt Lake Art Center; he also won three merit awards at the Utah Designer Craftsman Show. Head (1975), a bronze sculpture, is featured in the Utah Arts Council collection. Opus and Handpot (1983) are examples of his work.

Biography adapted from Artists of Utah.

Larry Elsner of Logan was originally from Gooding, Idaho. He was a sculptor and ceramist as well as a consummate craftsman in all that he did. His latest work, seen at Phillips Gallery in the later 1980s, was and is the most wonderful denial of ideal human proportioning, and his work as artist and teacher over the years was interesting and excellent.

Elsner held a B.S. (Utah State University, 1957) and M.F.A.(Columbia University, 1958)degrees, and also studied metal smithing at Michigan's famed Cranbrook Academy. He was a member of the U.S.U. faculty beginning in 1960.

Biography courtesy Artists of Utah

Newspaper Articles

"3 Exhibits Take Bold, Imaginative Plunges Into The 3rd Dimension." The Deseret News, August 22, 1993.

"Adaptable Artists Display Works In Park City." The Deseret News, January 21, 1990.

"Art Treasures Offer Possibilities For Treasured Christmas Gifts: S.L. Area Exhibits Tailored To Fit Many Holiday Budgets." The Deseret News, December 11, 1988.

"Council's Traveling Shows Put Art On Display All Across State." The Deseret News, August 27, 1989.

"Sculptor Larry Elsner Dies." The Deseret News, March 29, 1990.

"The Pierpont Gallery: An Exercise In Collaboration For Both Artists And Architects." The Deseret News, May 26, 1988.

"Three-Dimensional Utah: Works By Artists Past And Present Offer A Visual And Tactile Treat At USU Museum." The Deseret News, August 25, 1996.

Books

Elsner, Larry E. Larry E. Elsner: Retrospective. Logan, UT: Utah State University, 1992.

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 Painting and Sculpture. Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith Publisher, 1991.

Swanson, Vern G., Robert S. Olpin, Donna Poulton, and Janie Rogers. 150 Years Survey Utah Art, Utah Artists. Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith Publisher, 2001.