Minerva Teichert’s Jesus at the Home of Mary and Martha: Reimagining an Ordinary Heroine

Abstract

This thesis discusses the artist Minerva Kohlhepp Teichert (1888-1976), an early 20th century American Western muralist. It traces her scholarship from her lifetime forward. Examining Teichert’s biography and formal art education the research establishes how her trademark style is solidified early in her art career. Using Teichert’s painting, Jesus at the Home of Mary and Martha, the paper instructs how to read Teichert’s painting technique and interpret her personal message of re-envisioning the traditional narrative of Mary as the heroine. Two theories are presented to explain why Teichert would be motivated to paint Mary and Martha as equals. First, a market analysis is conducted to trace the trajectory of Teichert’s artistic production, the subjects she chose to paint and the art market—the selling, buying and her patronage—to show Minerva’s reliance on a collective effort of women that ensured her success at key moments in her career. Second, analyzing two murals she painted in the LDS Manti Utah Temple presents an argument that she was interested in depicting ordinary people as heroes in history.