We are thrilled to announce that the Museum has added Paige Crosland Anderson's beautiful work Again, Glorified (Atonement Triptych) into its permanent collection. This stunning work, which has been on loan from the artist at the Museum since July 2022, is comprised of three large painted panels in golden frames, each featuring intricate, overlapping patterns of circles and squares in rich jewel tones. Funding for the acquisition was provided by MOA donors Joyce Martin Hill and George Hill.
In Again, Glorified, Anderson adapts the traditional three-piece altarpiece format for a contemporary Latter-day Saint audience. The resurrection, rather than the crucifixion, occupies the central panel, flanked by conceptual depictions of the Savior's experiences in Gethsemane and Golgotha.
“The MOA is deeply committed to exhibiting religious artwork that inspires and uplifts," said MOA Director Janalee Emmer. "With this particular piece, we unanimously felt that Atonement Triptych connects our LDS artistic traditions with rich Christian traditions of the past. It also allow viewers to appreciate the beauty and complexity of art that is abstract and non-figurative but still grounded to concrete narratives from the Savior’s life.”
Anderson, who lives and works in Utah, was inspired not only by European altarpieces, but by stained glass, landscape paintings, and, especially, quilting patterns. The longer Again, Glorified was on display, the more obvious it was just how much audiences resonated with its beauty, power, and reverence.
"I grew up coming here [to the Museum]," the artist said when asked about the acquisition. "For me to be able to enter into that pantheon in a small way felt so humbling and so amazing. To know that it's connected with people in a way that has made the Museum even interested in it was a huge honor for me." (You can watch a full interview with the artist in the video above or on YouTube.)
Visitors to the Museum can see this work in person in the exhibition Of Souls and Sacraments: Symbol and Context in Christian Art, which is open through March 2025. Afterwards, there are plans for its regular use in future exhibitions at the MOA. As more and more visitors witness it in person, Anderson hopes that it brings a freshness to how they view religious experiences. "I love thinking about God as the great Creator," she says. "Abstract art is another testament to God's love of beauty and variety... Abstraction is just another way of God saying 'Yeah, I love you. There's a lot of ways that you can access me. You can see me in all these different ways.'"
The MOA actively seeks out new acquisitions to expand its collection, particularly to include new artists, styles, and subject matters. The MOA staff is deeply grateful to the Hill family and each of its other donors, without whose kindness it would be unable to share such meaningful works with visitors and online audiences throughout the world. If you'd like to support the Museum in its ongoing efforts to acquire new works, learn how you can help here. You can also browse highlights of other recent acquisitions here.