Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple Drawing

The Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple is one of a series of detailed pencil drawings and paintings created by the artist Chad S. Hawkins. In 1989, at the age of seventeen, Chad started this unique temple series, becoming the original LDS artist to involve hidden spiritual images in his artwork.

“As with all of my temple works of art,” comments the artist, “I include in addition to the temple, appropriate hidden spiritual images within each drawing. With the Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple, my goal was to honor all of those early pioneers that did not go any further than Winter Quarters as well as those who were able to continue their journey. In their memory, I hid in the foliage to the left of the temple the cemetery’s famous Avard Fairbanks sculpture, ‘Tragedy at Winter Quarters.’ I placed the statue specifically on the cemetery side of the temple.”

“To encourage members to have a current temple recommend and to visit the temple as often as occasion permits. I rendered, by the temple’s entrance, an image of the Savior in the motion of inviting us to receive the blessings found in temple service.”