John Hafen: Utah’s Poet Painter

This week marks the release of John Hafen: Utah’s Poet Painter, a comprehensive biography of the celebrated Utah artist written by father-daughter art historians, Vern G. Swanson and Angela Swanson Jones. Lavishly illustrated with over two hundred of the artist’s best works, readers will be enthralled by the beauty and sensitivity of the lyrical landscapes that earned Hafen the title of “Utah’s Poet Painter.”

Largely written in his own words from hundreds of his letters, the book gives insight into a short life characterized by struggle and privation. And yet it was a beautiful tale made more poignant by his unwavering devotion to art, nature, and nature’s God. Complementing the book publication is the major retrospective exhibition, Enduring Beauty: John Hafen and the Power of Art at the Springville Museum of Art (on view through July 25, 2026).

Published by Gibbs Smith (gibbs-smith.com), John Hafen: Utah’s Poet Painter can be found on Amazon and at other major book retailers.