Roger "Sam" Wilson was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1943. Wilson is a painter that specializes in realism and illusion. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah where he teaches at the University of Utah.

Wilson completed a Masters degree at California State University, Long Beach.  Wilson has been an illustrator for Carl Sagen's Cosmos on P.B.S., a "Magician" with Paramount Pictures, and working in stage design, construction, and silk screening for Silent Running for Universal Studios.

Wilson's work has been exhibited throughout the Intermountain Region and in California, earning him numerous awards. In the 1980s he spent 16 months doing the interior of the Cathedral of the Madeline in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Biography courtesy of The Springville Museum of Art

Sam Wilson was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1943; then his family moved west, living first in Golden, Colorado, and eventually staying in the Los Angeles, California area, mostly in Long Beach. He graduated from high school in 1961, an experience he says is "best forgotten. I was too young to be a Beatnik and too old to be a Hippie. I owe my career to Lyndon Baines Johnson. I went to school without much direction. I guess it was partly to avoid getting drafted. I was drafted. After service, mostly in Barstow, California and Viet Nam (Barstow was the scary place), I resumed my education with the crucial G.I. Bill. My education was completed with a Masters from California State University, Long Beach." Currently, Sam Wilson is Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Utah Department of Art. His varied career includes a number of teaching positions in California and Colorado, being an illustrator for Carl Sagen's Cosmos on PBS, a "Magician" with Paramount Pictures, and working in stage design, construction, and silkscreening for Silent Running for Universal Studios. Wilson's work has been exhibited throughout the Intermountain Region and in California, earning him numerous awards. In ** yr? he spent 16 months doing the interior of the Cathedral of the Madeline in Salt Lake City, Utah. He said, "They let me do 'Wilson' stuff." Talking about his work, Wilson said, since I never could figure out the right way to start a painting, I would look at a piece of 'stuff,' thinking that it may be a way of generating a picture. It's like those horse-cart, chicken-egg questions. Do I collect stuff to paint or do I paint to collect stuff? By way of paint or pencil, I display objects both exotic and mundane on desk tops or in caves. This stuff I use may be replicas of other cultures or junk and tools from my work place. Masks may be people, people are animals or a rock is a place„it doesn't matter. I entertain myself and satisfy my curiosities by accumulating and arranging the items on the surface of the picture in a manner as unpredictable as possible. I believe that these oblique references and nonsense relationships open to me (and you) greater possibilities, more surprises and a justification for such a quiet and solitary entertainment. I use the techniques of realism and illusionism as a medium to present these harmless dramas. The pictures are just hanging around on the wall, I mean they are static. I assume the role of magician to add a helpful tension. The game of what's 'real' or not is a ploy, a device to catch your eye. The final result of this labor would be, for you, a trip with no passport, a contest with no clock and a visual snack without the predictable flavor of a franchised fun house.

Biography courtesy of The Springville Museum of Art.

Newspaper Articles

"7 Utah Artists Sharing $5,500 in Grants from the State's Arts Council." The Deseret News, March 28, 1998.

"7 New Art Shows at U. Offer a Visual Feast." The Deseret News, January 12, 1992.

"'91 Saw Tepid Art Bidding, Blockbuster Exhibits." The Deseret News, December 29, 1991.

"A Spiritual Oasis." The Salt Lake Tribune, October 25, 2003.

"Activities Mark Stations of the cross." The Deseret News, February 12, 1994.

"An Artist in Transition Tony Smith's New Work Flies in The Face of Trompe l'Oeil Style Smith Turns a Broom Into a Brush." The Salt Lake Tribune, August 4, 1996.

"Ancient City is Found in Dominican Republic." The Deseret News, March 29, 1997.

"Art Barn Still Growing and Flourishing after 60 Years." The Deseret News, December 2 1990.

"Art Canvass." The Deseret News, May 4, 2003.

"Arts Fest, Girl Scouts and Realtors Celebrate." The Salt Lake Tribune, July 13, 2003.

"Artists Get Grants Totaling $5,500." The Salt Lake Tribune, March 30, 1998.

"Artists Included in E-Spousing Art show." The Deseret News, September 14, 2003.

"Art Notes: Wildlife Artists Offer Show in Park City." The Salt Lake Tribune, January 6, 1991.

"Artwork at Annual Festival May Alienate Some Utahns." The Deseret News, June 25, 1992.

"Blindness No Hindrance to Art" The Deseret News, July 20, 2003.

"Blindness No Hindrance to Art." The Deseret News, July 20, 2003.

"Coming Up: Visual Arts." Salt Lake Tribune, July 28, 2002.

"Coming Up: Visual Art." The Salt Lake Tribune, July 7, 2002.

"Coming Up: Visual Art." The Salt Lake Tribune, November 26, 2000.

"Coming Up: Visual Art." The Salt Lake Tribune, August 6, 2000.

"Coming Up: Visual Art." The Salt Lake Tribune, March 28, 1999.

"Coming Up: Visual Art." The Salt Lake Tribune. October 5, 1997.

"Coming Up: Visual Art." The Salt Lake Tribune, May 14, 1995.

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

"Double Your Pleasure." The Deseret News, January 27, 2002.

"Drawing Together." The Deseret News, September 14, 2003.

"Drawing Together." The Deseret News, September 14, 2003.

"Exhibit at Phillips Utah Artist Derives Icons from Myriad Sources." The Salt Lake Tribune, January 6, 1991.

"Exhibit Celebrates 100 Years of Arts Council Display Includes Folk, Fine, Public Art Since 1899." The Deseret News, March 21, 1999.

"Exhibit Offers Gutsy Views of `Cultural Icons'." The Deseret News, June 21, 1998.

"Exhibit Proves Collaboration Can Make Magic." The Deseret News, January 31, 1993.

"Exploring Depth and Scope of Utah Art at Springville." The Salt Lake Tribune, November 10, 1991.

"Fantasy, Macabre Art on Exhibit in Utah County, Galleries Have Treats for Halloween Visitors." The Deseret News, October 23, 1988.

"Festival Schedule." The Deseret News, April 7, 2002.

"Galleries." The Deseret News, April 26, 1998.

"Galleries Offer Tricks and Treats for the Eyes." The Deseret News, October 24, 1993.

"Galleries Salute Chance-Taking Work of Individualists." The Deseret News, January 27, 1991.

"Images of Christ." The Deseret News, January 6, 2001.

"Inside the stately Madeleine is a World of Beauty and Devotion." The Deseret News, September 27, 1996.

"Keeping the Faith in Springville." The Salt Lake Tribune, November 23, 2003.

"Madeleine Banquet Tonight." The Deseret News, May 26, 2002.

"Marti Esplin's Artistic Alternatives." The Salt Lake Tribune, May 28, 2000.

"Meanwhile in Utah...." The Salt Lake Tribune, September 4, 1993.

"Park City Art Galleries Plan a Busy Holiday." The Deseret News, December 24, 1989.

"Showing at Local Galleries." The Deseret News, July 16, 2000.

"Showing at local galleries." The Deseret News, November 18, 2001.

"Shows Feature Paintings, Crafts, Wall Hangings." The Deseret News, October 20, 1991.

"Spiritual Art Contemporary Artists Strive to Create New Metaphors," The Salt Lake Tribune, December 25, 1994.

"Students' Artwork to go on Display." The Deseret News, April 27, 2003.

"Spring Salon." The Deseret News, April 26, 1998.

"States's Art Educators Will Host Conference." The Deseret News, February 23, 1997.

"Stations of the Cross are Not Theological Essentials for Roman." The Salt Lake Tribune. February 5, 1994.

"The Circle by Wulf Barsch Reflects the Artist's Mystical, Poetic and Visionary Interests." Salt Lake Tribune, December 25, 1994.

"The Viewer is the Artist's collaborator." The Deseret News, May 30, 1993.

"Treasures Abound in Summer Art Exhibits." The Deseret News, June 11, 1989.

"U. Instructors Strut Their Artistic Stuff." The Deseret News, November 2, 1997.

"Utah Arts Festivel: June 26th - 29th." The Deseret News, June 20, 1997.

"Utah Arts Festival Brims with Sights, Sounds and Smells." The Deseret News, June 26, 1992.

"Utah Art Spans an Array of Time, Subject Matter." The Deseret News, March 31, 1991.

"Utah Artist Inspires Exhibition." The Salt Lake Tribune, June 21, 1992.

"Utahns with Roots in Spiritual Movement." The Salt Lake Tribune, December 25, 1994.

"Visual Arts 'Petroglyphs & Pictographs.'" The Salt Lake Tribune, March 29, 1992.

"What Do Steve Bochco, Mahonri Young Have In Common?" The Salt Lake Tribune, October 24, 1999.

"Work of 3 Artists Brighten and Revitalize Phillips Gallery's Main Hall." The Deseret News, March 29, 1992.

Books

Smith, V. Babington. Dictionary of Contemporary Artists. Santa Barbara, CA: Clio Press, 1981.

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, Donna Poulton, and Janie L. Rogers. 150 Year Survey Utah Art & Artists. Salt Lake City, UT: Gibbs Smith, 2002.

Swanson, Vern G., Robert S. Olpin, and William C. Seifrit. Utah Painting and Sculpture. Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith Publisher, 1997.

Swanson, Vern G., Robert S. Olpin, and William C. Seifrit. Utah Art. Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith Publishing Co, 1991.

Periodicals

15 Bytes. "300 Plates: The First Annual Art Access Fundraiser & Exhibition." 15 Bytes, http://www.artistsofutah.org/newsletter/03may/page1.html. (accessed August 14, 2008).

Miscellaneous

"Roger D. Wilson." Artists Index, Springville Museum of Art. http://www.springvilleartmuseum.org/collections/browse.html?x=artist&artist_id=401.