Bent Franklin Larsen (1882-1970), Onion Harvest, c. 1939, oil on canvas, 33 × 27 inches. Brigham Young University Museum of Art, 1941.
Happy Thanksgiving from the BYU Museum of Art! We hope you enjoy celebrating the holiday this Thursday. Historically, Thanksgiving began as a way to give thanks for blessings of the harvest. B.F. Larsen’s Onion Harvest shows two farmers who are putting their produce in bags to sell and deliver. Numerous full bags behind them indicate both hard work and a productive season. Leaning into their work, their faces are not visible so rather than individual people, they represent thousands of farmers across the nation who work to grow the food that makes it way to our grocery stores and local markets. A pioneering art educator and modern landscape painter, B.F. Larsen made an important contribution to Utah’s artistic scene. The BYU Museum of Art is grateful to have a large selection of his work in our permanent collection.