Franz M. Johansen

Who is Franz M. Johansen?

Franz M. Johansen is a Latter-day Saint sculptor and an emeritus professor at Brigham Young University. He has been called the founder of the LDS contemporary art movement that expresses spiritual belief through the human form.

Johansen studied at BYU under B. F. Larsen and Roman Andrus. He then pursued advanced studies at the Illinois Institute of Technology, California School of Arts and Crafts, the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere and the University of Miami.

Johansen joined the BYU faculty in 1956. He remained a member of the faculty until his retirement in 1987. For some of this time Johansen was the chairman of the BYU Art Department.

Among works by Johansen are large relief sculptures on the exteriors of the LDS Museum of Church History and Art on West Temple in Salt Lake City, and the Harold B. Lee Library and Joseph Smith Buildings at BYU. He also sculpted medallions on the front doors of the Washington D.C. Temple. Other noted works by Johansen include The Rod and the Veil, 1975, housed in the LDS Church History Museum, Resurrection: Restored 2 Nephi 2:12 and a bust of Gerrit de Jong.