Scandinavian Festival to feature artist's old cabin

When Geniel Jensen was a little girl, she remembers, her parents took her to the Ephraim Cemetery. "People would come up and pat me on the head and say, 'Oh, so you're the great-granddaughter of C.C.A. Christensen.' I would stamp my foot and say, 'No, I'm Geniel.' I didn't want to be anyone's great-granddaughter. I just wanted to be myself."

Now 91, and the oldest living great-granddaughter of the famous Mormon artist, "I feel kind of bad about it," she says, with a laugh.

Now, of course, that Scandinavian heritage is very important to her. "My grandpa was C.C.A.'s oldest son. I remember him, but C.C.A. died before I was born. Mother told us lots of stories. He seemed like a stern, austere man. I probably wouldn't have liked him then."

But she is proud of that heritage.

Jensen moved away from Ephraim when she was 14 but still loves to go back whenever she can. She hopes to be on hand on Friday, when a cabin that was once lived in and used by C.C.A. Christensen will be opened to the public as part of the Central Utah Art Center in Ephraim. "Maybe that will make up for all the years I said no," Jensen says.

The cabin sat outside Ephraim for a long time, says Jared Latimer, director of the Central Utah Art Center, and was in a dilapidated state when it was moved to the historic square in downtown Ephraim that houses both the old ZCMI Co-op and the art center, housed in the old Ephraim Roller Mill.

The cabin was stabilized and restored by students in several Traditional Building Skills Institute classes, but nothing more was done until it was decided — and funding was found — that it could be an extension of the CUAC gallery.

"It's the perfect use," Latimer says. " I think C.C.A. Christensen was the most important Mormon artist ever. He was a tremendous figure in the Utah art world, even the art world at large. He was featured on the cover of Art in America in 1970; he was classically trained. And to have his house in our backyard is exciting."

The cabin has been restored to contemporary standards, so it will provide a usable environment for art. The grand opening on Friday will feature a juried art exhibit of works by artists from the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage corridor, which basically runs along U.S. 89 in central Utah.

Now and in the future, Latimer says, "We will show the best art in Utah and around the world. I think it captures what C.C.A. was all about."