C. C. A. Christensen (1831-1912), Winter Quarters, c.1878, tempera on muslin, 76 3/4 x 113 3/4 inches. Brigham Young University Museum of Art, gift of the grandchildren of C.C.A. Christensen, 1970.
Driven from their homes in Nauvoo, early Saints established winter camps in Iowa and Nebraska, where they awaited spring to resume their journey westward. The largest of these temporary settlements was Winter Quarters, near present-day Omaha, Nebraska. Though the first winter was a time of significant hardship, Christensen focuses on a community engaged in preparations, anticipating their departure toward their promised land. This painting was originally part of a 175-ft scroll, referred to as the Mormon Panorama, which documents the first decades of the history of the Church.