Handcart Pioneers
Minerva Teichert (1888–1976) | oil on canvas | 71 1/2" x 52 1/2"| 1930
Handcart Pioneers after 2021 conservation.
A woman clad in paisley grasps the shoulder of a child while helping push a handcart up a steep mountain climb. To paint this image, Teichert took props from her Cokeville environment: a paisley shawl, likely borrowed from a neighbor, and a brass bucket from her own home. With faith that mirrored her ancestors who walked west, Teichert painted this piece as tithing and donated it to the Latter-day Saint Presiding Bishopric.
Conservation Notes
Because she desired to have her name on the tithing books, Teichert donated this painting to the Church in 1929. When the Teichert ranch was threatened with foreclosure in 1932, this painting was sold to the Church organizations with the promise she’d replace her tithing donation with a new painting.
After being stored and displayed by the Church for over 50 years, the painting was caked with grime. Museum staff remember assuming that the girl to the right of the woman in a paisley shawl was a rock in the background, only to be surprised when the painting was cleaned. For this exhibition, areas of paint loss were inpainted.
Learn more about the art and faith of Minerva Teichert in the exhibition at the Church History Museum.