Larry Elsner

Larry Elsner (1930-1990) was an art professor, sculptor, and sketchbook artist who taught at Utah State University for thirty years. Known throughout the world for his art, he lived most of his life in Logan, Utah with his wife Yoko Yamakawa until his death on March 27, 1990.

In 1962, Elsner won the Ford Foundation Purchase Award. He also won three merit awards at the Utah Designer Craftsman Show.

In 1960, Elsner joined the faculty at Utah State, teaching anatomy, drawing, ceramics, metalsmithing, jewelry casting and sculpture. During this time, he worked on art projects of his own in bronze, stone, plaster, clay, metal and wood. He would often use his own work as a model for his students. As a product of his creative process, Elsner created hundreds detailed and precise sketched studies, some of which became artworks in and of themselves. These sketchbooks are currently stored in the Special Collections and Archives department of the Merrill-Cazier Library at Utah State University. A digital collection of many of these drawings can be found here in an exhibit in USU's Digital History Collections.

Elsner was born in Gooding, Idaho in 1930 and was raised on his family's ranch. This environment had a profound effect on him, and he would bring these influences with him to his work. In 1948 he enrolled in the University of Idaho and graduated in 1951. Two years later, he joined the United States Navy. In 1955, he left the Navy and attended Utah State University, from which he graduated with a Bachelor's in Fine Arts in 1957. He then went to Columbia University where he studied under Oronzio Maldarelli, earning a Master's degree in 1958. In addition to these degrees, Elsner also studied metalsmithing at the Cranbrook Academy of Art and sculpture and pottery at the Archie Bray Foundation.