(William) Royden Card was born in Cardston, Alberta, Canada in 1952. He is an artist known for his woodcuts and his stylized oil paintings of the desert landscape of southwestern Utah. He lives in Provo, Utah.  

Card earned a BFA in painting in 1976, and an MFA in painting and sculpture with a minor in design in 1979 from Brigham Young University. He taught printmaking part-time at BYU for 16 years ending in 1996. He also taught intermittently at the University of Utah and Utah Valley State College. 

Card's work was featured at the 1991 Springville Museum of Art's Spring Salon. It was also exhibited Kimball Art Center's Utah Painting in 1994. The Smithsonian Institution Library, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, and the Brigham Young University Museum Collection have his works as part of their permanent collections.

Biography adapted from Springville Museum of Art

Royden Card was born in Cardston, Canada, August 2, 1952. He is a talented artist in both acrylic painting and printmaking. His works reflect personal relationships-with close friends, as in Jenni's Bookshelf, and with the Utah landscape as well.

As a child, Card always had an inclination toward the arts. By the time he was about nine, he knew he wanted to be an artist and began to draw a lot. He had a junior-high school teacher who encouraged him and even helped Card and his friends put together an art show in the school's lunchroom. His father, who was interested in painting as well, encouraged Royden and tried to facilitate his desire to paint. At the age of 13 or so, the father and son went to the art supply store to buy all the necessary tools real artists need. Royden is grateful for his father's sincere encouragement.

In high school, Card was already a serious and experimental artist. He took an oil painting class all four years and served on the school newspaper staff. He drew ads and political cartoons of the school's staff, which often got him in trouble. While he was still in high school, Card created his first prints-linoleum cuts and silk screens.

Having moved to Utah, Card experienced many opportunities to learn from local artists. His father was friends with Roman Andrus and Card was excited to be encouraged by a 'real artist.' Often times, he would ride his bike down to the Brigham Young University campus and visit the Harris Fine Arts Center, where he would poke his nose into some of the art classes to learn what he could from the professors and students. He particularly enjoyed bothering William Whitaker, and although he admired the artist, Royden often was asked to leave.

Card attended Brigham Young University and came to admire other artists as well, such as Dennis Smith and Trevor Southey. Although he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting in 1976, he had already begun to explore a new interest in woodcuts. Jenni Christensen, a fine printmaker and a good friend in the art department, had introduced the technique to Card. Together, they had art parties where they ate and drew with other friends. Card describes Jenni as a person who has always had an interesting and beautiful home. Card found the subjects for his early still lifes there in her home. He did not prearrange items but found images that represented a human quality. Jenni's Bookshelf (1984), shows the texture and the light-to-dark contrasts typical of woodcuts, which fascinate Card. However, Card did not get a lot of experience with printmaking until he took advanced design classes. In 1979, he received his Master of Fine Arts in printmaking from BYU.

Royden Card's woodcuts are small glimpses of Utah desert scenes, the texture and quality of the woodcuts echoing the carved landscapes of his subject matter. The prints have an intimate quality, clearly conveying his feeling for the land.

Card has been a part-time faculty member in printmaking at BYU for the past 16 years. Ironically, his emphasis in his own works has recently shifted to the area of acrylics. He still depicts landscapes of the Utah desert, but has also been painting New Mexican adobe architecture. His architectural portrayals depict portions of a building, a single wall or other element, so the focus is on line, shape, and value contrast. He was recently one of nine finalists for the State of Utah Art Fellowship.

Royden Card has six children, most of whom live in Seattle. They have learned to appreciate the arts and make them a part of their lives because of their father's example. Card admits that he has not influenced them to choose a profession in the arts simply because it is a difficult living. He also admits that it is his stubborn nature that has kept him from becoming anything other than an artist. His work ably demonstrates how his dedication to his talent makes him an effective artist.

Biography courtesy Springville Museum of Art

Newspaper Articles

"Art Canvass." The Deseret News, June 18, 1995.

"Coming Up: Visual Arts," The Salt Lake Tribune, June 17, 2001.

"Galleries." The Deseret News, October 25, 1998.

"Galleries." The Deseret News, April 13, 1997.

"Galleries." The Deseret News, October 27, 1996.

"Galleries." The Deseret News, January 15, 1995.

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

"Now showing at local galleries." The Deseret News, February 13, 2000.

"Participants In The 2003 Color Of The Land Art Exhibit." The Deseret News, July 17, 2003.

"Showing At Local Galleries." The Deseret News, February 23, 2003.

"Showing At Local Galleries." The Deseret News, February 10, 2002.

"Showing At Local Galleries." The Deseret News, August 19, 2001.

"Showing At Local Galleries." The Deseret News, May 30, 1999.

"Showing At Local Galleries." The Deseret News, December 27, 1998.

"Spring Salon: Broad-ranging Show Covers the Spectrum of Contemporary Utah Art." The Deseret News, April 30, 1990.

Books

Card, Royden and Robert Johnson. Works by Royden Card & Robert Johnson: December 29, 1997-February 7, 1998. Salt Lake City, UT: Public Library, Atrium Gallery, 1997.

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

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

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

Periodicals

15 Bytes. "Zion: Historic and Contemporary Works at the St. George Art Museum." 15 Bytes. http://www.artistsofutah.org/newsletter/feb02/feb2.html (accessed June 16, 2008).

Adair, Jodi. "Exhibition Review: St. George Redrock, Badlands & Sage: The Desert of Royden Card." 15 Bytes. http://www.artistsofutah.org/newsletter/03mar/page1.html (accessed June 16, 2008).