Queen Esther - Minerva Teichert

Queen Esther by Minerva Teichert (c. 1939)

Minerva Teichert’s portrait of this beloved heroine of the Old Testament is one of her most well known works. Queen Esther is portrayed here as confident, but firm in her righteousness and meekness. Minerva Teichert loved the story and person she saw in Queen Esther and painted her at least three times and completed several drawings over the years.

More About Queen Ester

Queen Esther by Minerva Teichert was first painted in 1939 costume tableau. She was yet another biblical heroine of strength and testimony that captured the Minerva’s imagination. She spoke of and even addressed the idea of painting Queen Esther 23 years earlier when she was studying art in New York City. As would be the case with many fictional and historically real women painted by Minerva Teichert, Queen Esther would be painted in beautiful clothing and with stunning physical features. The paining portrays the moment when the Persian King Ahashurerus chose the beautiful, young Esther to be his queen. The piece was so impressive that it was included in the exhibition of Teichert’s artI. Alice Merrill Horne exhibited the piece along with several of Teichert’s western themed paintings at the downtown Salt Lake City ZCMI department store in March 1939.

More About Minerva Teichert

Minerva Teichert was an artist whose works ranged from western American subjects to many religious paintings primarily depicting the history of the Latter-day Saint movement. This includes Minerva’s several works requested by the Church that were used to illustrate the stories using Book of Mormon art. She is also well known for the many murals she painted in public and private buildings scattered throughout Wyoming, Idaho and Utah. She was born Minerva Kohlhepp in 1888 in North Ogden, Utah. Minerva was the second of ten children and spent most of the first half of her life doing just as much farm work as she did painting. She studied under famous artists like Robert Henri at the Art Institute of Chicago and Art Students League of New York. When she was 29 years old, Minerva Kohlhepp married Herman Teichert on September 15, 1917. However, only one year after their wedding, World War One broke out and Herman left for battle. Although Minerva traveled with Herman throughout his boot camp training and transfers, she was eventually forced to bid farewell and stayed at home with their newborn baby son. During the early years of their marriage, everything was in short supply because of the war, so Minerva Teichert would paint on scraps of wood and paper because there simply wasn’t enough money to buy art supplies. Fortunately, Herman returned home after the war and the couple went on to have four more children. Minerva and Herman spent most of their lives on a ranch in Cokeville, Wyoming. Much of Minerva Teichert art can also be found by searching for LDS art, LDS church pictures, and Mormon art; even though these are not official names of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.