By James Gordon Holmes Jr.
Our great-great-grandfather Carl Christian Anton Christensen (affectionately known as C. C. A.), has been referred to as "undoubtedly the finest 19th-century genre painter of Mormonism and Utah."1 An early pioneer artist from Denmark, he is best known for his Mormon Panorama—a series of 23 large oil-on-canvas paintings, each measuring 6.5 feet (1.98 m) tall by 9.5 feet (2.9 m) wide, sewn together in continuous runs. Each scene served as a pictorial record of one of the many poignant events in early Church history. I recall Grandmother sharing with me her memories of traveling with her father and C. C. A. to various Latter-day Saint settlements throughout Utah to show the panorama to local congregations. Grandmother told me that as a teenager she helped load the panorama into long wooden boxes, then into the wagon where they were covered with canvas and quilts to protect them. When they arrived at their destination, they enlisted the help of the local brethren to unload the panorama and prepare it for presentation inside the meetinghouse. The panorama was wound out vertically. Poles attached to tripods served as "reels," which two men—one at each pole—rolled it out slowly so as to provide a synchronous presentation as if it were a motion picture. The direction and intensity of light thrown by the oil lamps was controlled by shades, screens, and mirrors. Grandmother provided the background music by playing the piano. Her music consisted of a combination of various tunes and hymns, giving an added dimension of drama to each scene. It was not uncommon for the congregation to sing along with the hymns that Grandmother played.
Grandmother told me that C. C. A. "in a thick Danish accent, would then tell the story of our people. Invariably, the Saints were moved to a level of high emotion." The experience "was especially moving for those who had actually participated in or witnessed the events being presented."