Paul Salisbury

Paul Salisbury was born and raised in Richfield, Utah. He was the son of a rancher and spent much of his childhood drawing the animals and landscapes around his father’s property. Paul’s interest in painting animals is reflected in much of his artwork.

As a young man Paul attended Brigham Young University and received instruction from B. F. Larsen and E. H. Eastman. Later, Paul moved to Salt Lake City, with his new wife Chloe Murdock, and studied under LeConte Stewart. Paul also had the opportunity to learn from the great western artist Frank Tenney Johnson while living in California. 

Paul Salisbury is known for his depictions of the west, particularly Wyoming and Utah. He loved to paint spectacular desert scenes and is known for his depictions of desert cliffs. Animals, particularly horses, are often present in his works – as are cowboys and Native Americans.  Fascinatingly, Paul had a photographic memory which allowed him to paint scenes in great detail and sometimes entirely from memory.

Paul continued to paint even after he acquired respiratory problems and pneumonia. Many people consider Paul’s later work his best. He developed a style that he called ‘Early Americana’ which depict scenes of pioneers, bison hunts, and cattle drives. Unfortunately, Paul Salisbury’s respiratory issues led to heart problems, which required him to have open heart surgery.  Paul died a few days after the surgery, on March 7, 1973, of pneumonia while in the recovery room of the hospital. He was 69 years old.