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Edward James Fraughton
(Park City, Ut, 1939 – 2024, South Jordan, Ut)
Edward J. Fraughton was born on 22 March 1939 to Clara Jane Ackerlund Fraughton and Ellis Joseph Fraughton. Raised in Park City, Utah, Edward's interest in art was encouraged by his mother and step-father Charles "Zip" C. Nelson. Edward's mother, who once met the noted sculptor Avard Fairbanks, collected newspaper clippings on the artist's career and shared them with him. Another of Fraughton's early influences was the artist Arnold Friberg.1 Interested in sculpture at an early age, Fraughton was fascinated by trinkets and toy sculptures. He would spend hours examining his playset of toy horses and soldiers, studying how each piece was formed. He noticed that both sides were mirror images of each other with a seam in between. Even then, he felt that the pieces were somewhat lacking in design. This would be an issue that he would resolve as his own sculpting skills developed.2 One particular incident that influenced Fraughton's growing interest in art occurred while he was attending Marsac Elementary in Park City. One day he decided to draw, from life, a pencil drawing of a gingerbread Victorian train depot that he passed by each day on his way to and from school. Pleased with the result, Fraughton decided to show the finished drawing to his fourth grade teacher Alene Gibbons. Making no comment on the quality of the piece, she asked Edward to recreate the drawing in crayon. Again, he didn't receive any comment the next day when he turned in the second drawing. It wasn't until the end of the school year at the final assembly that Mrs. Gibbons announced, with a smile, that Edward's drawing won the 1949 Milton Bradley Company's "America the Beautiful" Crayon Art Competition. Edward was awarded a plaque inscribed: "First Place Award for crayon art, adjudged by a board of nationally famous artists, the most outstanding in the entire state among pupils in the fourth grade."3 From this time on, Fraughton spent much of his time doing local art projects while he continued to draw and create little stories drawn from his imagination. Popular subjects were horses and Western themes. His interest in sculpting continued to grow. As an adult, Fraughton attended the University of Utah where he earned a degree in civil engineering. He remembers, "I thought, this is great, if I'm going to do monumental sculpture, and I don't even know where that idea came from, with the study of civil engineering I'd have all the geometry, math and engineering classes behind me. These classes I felt would really help me in building armatures, casting pieces, etc."4 During the last quarter of his freshman year, Fraughton enrolled in a drawing class from Professor Ed Maryon. While teaching his students "how to LEARN to draw", Maryon instructed: "Concern yourself with the ends of the lines and the middles will take care of themselves." When Fraughton applied this principle to sculpture, he realized that "Stance, gesture, form and emotion must be characterized through properly placing these points of articulation. Then, the details of muscle and drapery tend to take care of themselves." While at the University of Utah, Fraughton also studied sculpture with Dr. Avard Fairbanks and Justin Fairbanks. During this time, he became quite knowledgeable about the history and tradition of sculpture.5 Edward Fraughton describes his work: "My quest as a sculptor has been to sculpt a three-dimensional design. Sculpture should never be designed from a narrow point of view. The best sculpture makes you move around it. A painter directs your eye from one part of the picture to another, the sculptor surrounds it."6 He is well known for his monumental concepts and heroic sculptures of historical and contemporary subjects. He also sculpts wildlife subjects.7 Fraughton is a founding member of the National Academy of Western Art and a longtime member of the National Sculpture Society. He also holds membership with the San Francisco Bohemian Club and the Society of Animal Artists. Fraughton has won many major national awards and his sculptures are represented in collections and galleries worldwide.8 Fraughton's works range in size from medallions to monuments, including portraiture, bas-reliefs, narrative bronzes, medals and plaques. Major commissions include The Mormon Battalion Monument (1968), Presidio Park, San Diego, California; The Spirit of Wyoming (1986), Cheyenne, Wyoming; All is Well, Salt Lake City, Utah; Winter Quarters, Florence, Nebraska; The Cadet (1991), Randolph-Macon Academy, Fort Royal, Virginia; and Monument to Education, Ricks College, Rexburg, Idaho.9 END NOTES 1 Vern Swanson, "Edward J. Fraughton: Western Academician," History of Utah Artists Binder Series, Letter "F", Vol. 8, pp.2-3, Huntington Research Library, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, Utah. 2 Ibid., p.3. 3 Edward J. Fraughton, "Edward J. Fraughton: A Life in Progress," Southwest Art, May 1993, pp.75-80. 4 Swanson, pp.4-5. 5 Ibid., pp.6-7. 6 Ibid., p.3. 7 Fraughton, p.80. 8 Swanson, p.10. 9 Fraughton, p.80; Swanson, pp.9-10. Edward James Fraughton OBITUARY Edward James Fraughton was born March 22, 1939, on an early spring day in the snowy, impoverished Utah mining town of Park City. He died at 95 of a rare blood cancer in South Jordan, utah on June 2, 2024. He attended Marsac Elementary School and, in 1957, graduated from Park City High School. Entering the University of Utah as a civil engineering student, he later changed his major to sculpture and graduated in 1962 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree. While there, he studied, served as a student teaching assistant, assisted in the gross anatomy lab, and did his postgraduate work under the legendary Dr. Avard T. Fairbanks and his son, Justin. He also played baritone horn in the university marching and concert bands. Following his formal education, which he financed maily by working night shifts at a local steel fabrication plant, he struffled to make ends meet by working in sales, substitute high school teaching, driving a delivery truck, and laboring as a foundry worker in a local bronze casting facility. Ed's first sculpture commission involved creating a series of historical portraits for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1968 he was commissioned by the Sons of Utah Pioneers and Mormon Battalion associations to create a heroic monument commemorating the historic Mormon Battalion trek from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to San Diego during the 1846-1847 Mexican-American War. His heroic 12-foot monumental Mormon Battalion Soldier stands at the highest point in San Diego's Presidio Park. National recognition began in 1973 when Ed was awarded his first gold medal at the National Academy of Western Art for his sculpture Where Trails End. Awards from the National Sculpture Society, National Academy of Design, and other prestigious art organizations soon followed. In 1980, Ed created the inagural medal for President Reagan, and his Where Trails End was in Reagan's private quarters during the eight years in office. the same piece is now permanently displayed at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. Numerous awards followed through the years. Most recently, the National Sculpture Society/National Trust for Historic Preservation's Residency at Chesterwood (June 2023) and a Lifetime Achievement Award was presented (April 2024) by the National Portrait Society of America. His more recent sculpture projects include A Man to Match My Mountains at Snowbird, Utah Ski Resort, and The Ancient Ones at Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez, Colorado. His portion of a ten-uear collaborative effort, commissioned by the First National Bank of Omaha, is in a heroic bronze installation titled Nebraska Wilderness and Pioneer Courage. It depicts a historic pioneer wagon train going west through Nebraska's wilderness. Edward's greatest source of pride and joy was his family. His love for his wife, his children, and all his posterity was immeasurable. A lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he frequently expressed his devotion to the Savior through his words and his work. His magnum opus, Resurrection, yet to be completed, sits waiting in his studio. Surviving him is his wife, Ann; Children: Kristi Chapman (Jeff), Ted (Tina), and Michael (Lisa); and sister, Dona Tippetts. Twelve grandchildren, thirteen great-grandchildren, many treasured friends and his brothers in the Redwoods. He is preceded in death by his daughter, Amy; granddaughter, Samantha, mother Clara Jane Ackerlund Nelson; father, Ellis Joseph Fraoughton; and Step Father, Charles Nelson; his sisters, Ansilene Ozberkmen, Carol Jan Branham, Charlene Nelson, Louise Christie Nelson; and brother, Billy Nelson.
(Park City, Ut, 1939 – 2024, South Jordan, Ut)
Edward J. Fraughton was born on 22 March 1939 to Clara Jane Ackerlund Fraughton and Ellis Joseph Fraughton. Raised in Park City, Utah, Edward's interest in art was encouraged by his mother and step-father Charles "Zip" C. Nelson. Edward's mother, who once met the noted sculptor Avard Fairbanks, collected newspaper clippings on the artist's career and shared them with him. Another of Fraughton's early influences was the artist Arnold Friberg.1 Interested in sculpture at an early age, Fraughton was fascinated by trinkets and toy sculptures. He would spend hours examining his playset of toy horses and soldiers, studying how each piece was formed. He noticed that both sides were mirror images of each other with a seam in between. Even then, he felt that the pieces were somewhat lacking in design. This would be an issue that he would resolve as his own sculpting skills developed.2 One particular incident that influenced Fraughton's growing interest in art occurred while he was attending Marsac Elementary in Park City. One day he decided to draw, from life, a pencil drawing of a gingerbread Victorian train depot that he passed by each day on his way to and from school. Pleased with the result, Fraughton decided to show the finished drawing to his fourth grade teacher Alene Gibbons. Making no comment on the quality of the piece, she asked Edward to recreate the drawing in crayon. Again, he didn't receive any comment the next day when he turned in the second drawing. It wasn't until the end of the school year at the final assembly that Mrs. Gibbons announced, with a smile, that Edward's drawing won the 1949 Milton Bradley Company's "America the Beautiful" Crayon Art Competition. Edward was awarded a plaque inscribed: "First Place Award for crayon art, adjudged by a board of nationally famous artists, the most outstanding in the entire state among pupils in the fourth grade."3 From this time on, Fraughton spent much of his time doing local art projects while he continued to draw and create little stories drawn from his imagination. Popular subjects were horses and Western themes. His interest in sculpting continued to grow. As an adult, Fraughton attended the University of Utah where he earned a degree in civil engineering. He remembers, "I thought, this is great, if I'm going to do monumental sculpture, and I don't even know where that idea came from, with the study of civil engineering I'd have all the geometry, math and engineering classes behind me. These classes I felt would really help me in building armatures, casting pieces, etc."4 During the last quarter of his freshman year, Fraughton enrolled in a drawing class from Professor Ed Maryon. While teaching his students "how to LEARN to draw", Maryon instructed: "Concern yourself with the ends of the lines and the middles will take care of themselves." When Fraughton applied this principle to sculpture, he realized that "Stance, gesture, form and emotion must be characterized through properly placing these points of articulation. Then, the details of muscle and drapery tend to take care of themselves." While at the University of Utah, Fraughton also studied sculpture with Dr. Avard Fairbanks and Justin Fairbanks. During this time, he became quite knowledgeable about the history and tradition of sculpture.5 Edward Fraughton describes his work: "My quest as a sculptor has been to sculpt a three-dimensional design. Sculpture should never be designed from a narrow point of view. The best sculpture makes you move around it. A painter directs your eye from one part of the picture to another, the sculptor surrounds it."6 He is well known for his monumental concepts and heroic sculptures of historical and contemporary subjects. He also sculpts wildlife subjects.7 Fraughton is a founding member of the National Academy of Western Art and a longtime member of the National Sculpture Society. He also holds membership with the San Francisco Bohemian Club and the Society of Animal Artists. Fraughton has won many major national awards and his sculptures are represented in collections and galleries worldwide.8 Fraughton's works range in size from medallions to monuments, including portraiture, bas-reliefs, narrative bronzes, medals and plaques. Major commissions include The Mormon Battalion Monument (1968), Presidio Park, San Diego, California; The Spirit of Wyoming (1986), Cheyenne, Wyoming; All is Well, Salt Lake City, Utah; Winter Quarters, Florence, Nebraska; The Cadet (1991), Randolph-Macon Academy, Fort Royal, Virginia; and Monument to Education, Ricks College, Rexburg, Idaho.9 END NOTES 1 Vern Swanson, "Edward J. Fraughton: Western Academician," History of Utah Artists Binder Series, Letter "F", Vol. 8, pp.2-3, Huntington Research Library, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, Utah. 2 Ibid., p.3. 3 Edward J. Fraughton, "Edward J. Fraughton: A Life in Progress," Southwest Art, May 1993, pp.75-80. 4 Swanson, pp.4-5. 5 Ibid., pp.6-7. 6 Ibid., p.3. 7 Fraughton, p.80. 8 Swanson, p.10. 9 Fraughton, p.80; Swanson, pp.9-10. Edward James Fraughton OBITUARY Edward James Fraughton was born March 22, 1939, on an early spring day in the snowy, impoverished Utah mining town of Park City. He died at 95 of a rare blood cancer in South Jordan, utah on June 2, 2024. He attended Marsac Elementary School and, in 1957, graduated from Park City High School. Entering the University of Utah as a civil engineering student, he later changed his major to sculpture and graduated in 1962 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree. While there, he studied, served as a student teaching assistant, assisted in the gross anatomy lab, and did his postgraduate work under the legendary Dr. Avard T. Fairbanks and his son, Justin. He also played baritone horn in the university marching and concert bands. Following his formal education, which he financed maily by working night shifts at a local steel fabrication plant, he struffled to make ends meet by working in sales, substitute high school teaching, driving a delivery truck, and laboring as a foundry worker in a local bronze casting facility. Ed's first sculpture commission involved creating a series of historical portraits for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1968 he was commissioned by the Sons of Utah Pioneers and Mormon Battalion associations to create a heroic monument commemorating the historic Mormon Battalion trek from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to San Diego during the 1846-1847 Mexican-American War. His heroic 12-foot monumental Mormon Battalion Soldier stands at the highest point in San Diego's Presidio Park. National recognition began in 1973 when Ed was awarded his first gold medal at the National Academy of Western Art for his sculpture Where Trails End. Awards from the National Sculpture Society, National Academy of Design, and other prestigious art organizations soon followed. In 1980, Ed created the inagural medal for President Reagan, and his Where Trails End was in Reagan's private quarters during the eight years in office. the same piece is now permanently displayed at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. Numerous awards followed through the years. Most recently, the National Sculpture Society/National Trust for Historic Preservation's Residency at Chesterwood (June 2023) and a Lifetime Achievement Award was presented (April 2024) by the National Portrait Society of America. His more recent sculpture projects include A Man to Match My Mountains at Snowbird, Utah Ski Resort, and The Ancient Ones at Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez, Colorado. His portion of a ten-uear collaborative effort, commissioned by the First National Bank of Omaha, is in a heroic bronze installation titled Nebraska Wilderness and Pioneer Courage. It depicts a historic pioneer wagon train going west through Nebraska's wilderness. Edward's greatest source of pride and joy was his family. His love for his wife, his children, and all his posterity was immeasurable. A lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he frequently expressed his devotion to the Savior through his words and his work. His magnum opus, Resurrection, yet to be completed, sits waiting in his studio. Surviving him is his wife, Ann; Children: Kristi Chapman (Jeff), Ted (Tina), and Michael (Lisa); and sister, Dona Tippetts. Twelve grandchildren, thirteen great-grandchildren, many treasured friends and his brothers in the Redwoods. He is preceded in death by his daughter, Amy; granddaughter, Samantha, mother Clara Jane Ackerlund Nelson; father, Ellis Joseph Fraoughton; and Step Father, Charles Nelson; his sisters, Ansilene Ozberkmen, Carol Jan Branham, Charlene Nelson, Louise Christie Nelson; and brother, Billy Nelson.
Artist Objects
