Henry L. A. Culmer was born was born in 1854 in Darington, England. As a young boy he worked in a print shop in London. In 1868, his family emigrated to the United States after joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Living in Utah, Culmer enhanced his artistic skills by building, working in masonry, and painting with watercolor and oil.
In 1872, Culmer attended the University of Deseret where he was instructed by Alfred Lambourne and Reuben Kirkham. Later, Lambourne and Culmer traveled together throughout the Wasatch Mountains in in search of beautiful scenes and landscapes to paint. Following his education, Culmer worked a variety of different jobs. It is said that he had a significant impact on the economic development of the American West. Culmer did not take on painting full-time until later in his life. He is quoted as saying that he painted landscapes in order to “please the public.” Regardless of his real motivations, HLA Culmer became Utah’s most popular landscape painter. Toward the end of his life his paintings would sell almost as fast as he could produce them. H. L. A. Culmer died in Salt Lake City on February 10, 1914.
Culmer is known in the art world for his landscapes and for the groundbreaking and adventuresome work he did. Culmer had a background in the sciences which was often reflected in his work. Culmer depicted his interests in geological rock formations and botany in many of his works including ones published in National Geographic magazine. Culmer was also the first professional painter to paint the interior of Alaska, which he did while commissioned by the Alaskan Steamship Company. Impressively, Culmer refused to let danger dissuade him from painting beautiful scenes that were mostly undepicted during his time. Truly, H. L. A. Culmer was a pioneer in the world of Western art.