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Show Throughout his years in Oregon, Leo frequently returned to Utah to spend summers hiking and painting with his father and brother, Avard, who was established by this time at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The three men continued their intense involvement with and respect for each other's distinctive styles. No complete catalogue of Leo's paintings, friezes, busts, and other works exist, but among the most notable of his achievements are a sculpture frieze of 130 life-size figures on the Hawaiian Temple at Laie, the mural in the baptistry of the Mesa Temple in Arizona (he was assisted by his father and brother Avard in this project), the retouched mural in the World Room of the Salt Lake Temple which was originally painted by his father, John B. Fairbanks, a 1933 mural depicting the pioneers on their trek to the West, and two murals for the old library on Oregon State's campus ~ later Kidder Hall, depicting the literacy legacy of Western civilization with a matching mural drawn from oral and traditional sources. The turn-of-the-century arts building on that campus bears his name: J. Leo Fairbanks Hall. In addition, Leo has done the stained glass studies of Joseph Smith's First Vision and the return of Elijah the prophet with the keys of sealing that were exhibited first in the Hall of Religion at the Century of Progress exhibition in Chicago in 1934 (in collaboration with his father and brother, Avard), then later, in the 1935 Mormon exhibit in the San Diego Exposition. He has also completed murals in the officers' club at Camp Adair, Oregon, a sculptural relief of Brigham Young at Brigham City, Utah, and sculptural reliefs of soldiers and historical figures at Reno, Nevada, and Lebanon, Oregon. In 1936, he collaborated with Avard on a heroic bronze, A Tragedy of Winter Quarters, erected at the Mormon Pioneer Cemetery at Florence, Nebraska, where their great-grandparents, Halmah and Mary Van Wagoner, and Joseph Fairbanks were buried. Leo's style was a popular one and he had numerous commissions for current subjects, among them an oil portrait of William J. Kerr for Utah State University and a bronze relief of the same subject for Oregon State College. He also did a life-size oil of J. K. Weatherford, regent of Oregon State, for the college. Leo executed thirty-three illustrations of Book of Mormon subjects which were used on book covers, in addition to covers for books on Oregon history, novels, and Western magazines. His last mural, the ambitious Eternal Life, which portrays Christ preaching to all races of humanity, was done for the Portland, Oregon, stake center. Leo also planned business buildings and residences in Salt Lake City and Corvallis, Oregon; but he is best known for his paintings and particularly for his landscapes. He returned frequently to Brighton, Timpanogas, the aspen canyons, or the extravagant rock formations of Southern Utah for inspiration, but his portrayals of Oregon's coasts and forests are equally significant. Critics agree that he conveyed in a masterly way the sense of vastness in his western scenes and the lavish energy of nature's creations. Leo had also |
