SNOW COLLEGE
ALUMNI NEWSLETTER - SPRING 2016
The Agitator, by Nikolai Nikolaivich Yakovenko, was donated to Snow College by Roy and Ann Morgan Jespersen. Pictured (from left to right): Visual Arts Faculty Member Adam Larsen, Roy Jespersen, and Visual Arts Faculty Member Scott Allred. a Utah delegation invited by the Soviet Academy of Science to speak on free market systems. While in Georgia, Roy made many new friends. He soon became involved in sponsoring Georgian students in the U.S., giving them the opportunity to attend high school here. As his connections in Georgia grew, so did interest in Soviet art. Roy said he actually began collecting the art as an investment. He and a colleague began bringing art from Russia to America. His friend Vern encouraged him to bring back more art and would coach him on what to look for. Aided by fine arts and interior design consultant, Ellie Sonntag, Roy was able to sell many of the paintings he brought to the U.S. His new business venture proved profitable. However, before long, Roy became well acquainted with some of the artists whose works he had been selling. He decided that he enjoyed the paintings so much that he would no longer buy and sell art as he had done previously. Instead, he decided to keep the pieces that were most meaningful to him. In addition to discovering a love for Russian art, Roy also found love
through his sideline interest. He met his wife, Anne Morgan, through his association with Ellie. Anne, an architect and designer, was living in San Francisco when both she and Ellie were selected as part of the team responsible for the restoration of the Utah Governor’s Mansion. Ellie set the two up on a blind date that obviously ended successfully.
The Snow College Foundation is grateful to donors like Roy and Anne Morgan Jespersen for their thoughtful non-cash donations. These donations support our students in a variety of ways. If you would like to make a donation such as real estate, art, or other tangible property, please call the Snow College Foundation at 435-283-7061.
Anne has exhibited her art extensively in Utah and has received many awards in both art and architecture, including the prestigious Henry Adams Award for Excellence in Architecture. In 2014, Anne received the prestigious Governor’s Mansion Artist Series Award from Utah Governor Gary Herbert, and her paintings belong to collections throughout the world. She is an integral part of the Helper Artist’s Movement. In the hardscrabble landscape of Carbon County, this unique group of dedicated artists is considered to be one of the two most significant art movements to come out of Utah in the last 50 years. Anne is currently working on a series of paintings entitled Contemporary Women of Utah. This series is a cross-section and a historical documentation of women’s lives in Utah from 2012-2024. The commitment to this long-term project provides an opportunity to view the changes in her work over time as well as an opportunity to share perspectives with other women and the community. The collection of paintings donated to Snow College comes from some of Roy’s personal favorites. He and Anne have also donated significant works to the Springville Museum of Art. The museum houses the largest public collection of 20th-century Russian and Soviet art in the western United States.
View from the Balcony, by Shota Ambakovich Zamtaradze. 13