On a sunny day, anyone heading west on South Campus Drive will get a quick look at a famous artist's painting.
When the weather is nice, those who work in the grounds garage, leave the large door open, revealing a painting of deer and mountains by Avard Fairbanks.
Recognized primarily for his sculptures, Fairbanks' statues and figures can be found in Geneva, Switzerland; Sparta, Greece; Washington, D.C., and Salt Lake City's Temple Square.
According to Brian Nielson, associate director of plant operations, the painting was found along the corner of a wall in the garage nearly 12 years ago.
"I thought it was a neat painting so I put it up," Nielson said. "Since then, many people have come to the garage to look at the painting."
Over time the effects of sharing a gallery with lawn mowers and dump trucks has taken its toll. In the corners of the frame, the bright colors hold on to their brilliance, but the majority of the painting has been darkened by dust and soot. Even a few bird droppings have fallen on the canvas, which is scratched in two places.
U Art History Professor Bob Olpin, an expert on Utah artists, said, "[Fairbanks] is a very well-known and respected artist." Fairbanks made his living as a sculptor, but his paintings were more of a hobby, Olpin said.
Other paintings by Fairbanks can be found across the state in ward houses of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Olpin said.
"He wasn't really that great as a painter," he said. But as a sculptor Fairbanks was "incredible."
In 1897, Fairbanks was born in Provo, Utah—the son of an artist. By 14, he had a sculpture displayed at the National Academy of Design in New York, and was known as a child prodigy.
"He had a remarkable facility in modeling the clay, and casting it in bronze," Olpin said.
Fairbanks studied in Paris and at Yale University and Washington University. He taught art at the Seattle Institute of Art and University of Michigan before returning to Utah in 1947, to be the dean of the U's newly created College of Fine Arts. Two years later he painted the picture hanging in the grounds garage, and in 1989, Fairbanks died at the age of 92.
Fairbanks was known as a "Lincoln sculptor," a group of artists who frequently chose Abraham Lincoln as a subject.
"It was very popular to sculpt Lincoln in the early part of the 20th century because of the symbolism of his life, and he had good face—a rugged map," Olpin said.
Fairbanks, a member of the LDS Church, also sculpted the angel Moroni that was placed on the top of the Washington, D.C., Temple and many of the sculptures located in Temple Square.
The U houses two of his pieces: "The Ute Brave," located on the Union patio and "Chief Joseph," part of the permanent collection of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.
When local art buff Ryck Luthi heard that Fairbanks' painting was in the grounds garage, he laughed and then said, "We have a story similar to that one in the Union."
Luthi, who works as associate director of the Union, said in the mid '80s a janitor found a painting in a closet. The painting turned out to be George Ottinger's "The Maya Sculptor." Ottinger mostly painted landscapes and people in Utah, but was fascinated by the pre-Hispanic civilizations of Central and South America.
"The painting is beautiful and has been perfectly restored since its discovery," Luthi said. "It's strange how great pieces of art can disappear and then turn up again on campus. But it happens."
The painting now hangs in Union Room 411.
The building's art is mostly donated by artists—most of them U professors—or foundations, Luthi said. The Union has a fund for donors who want to help the Union buy more art.
During the '90s the Union paid to have its art collection appraised. Most of the work is valued between $2,000 and $25,000, but some pieces are worth much more.
"We have a fabulous collection and are proud of it," Luthi said.
Former U professor Douglas Snow's untitled abstract painting, located in the lobby, is the largest in the Union. But Luthi describes James Harwood's "Preparations for Dinner," as a prized possession. The painting is currently on loan to the Springville Art Museum.
Harwood grew up in Lehi and studied in Paris before returning to the U to be head of the art department in 1921.
Olpin describes Harwood as Utah's most popular painter of that era.
The Union also sold a painting by Utah landscape artist Tony Rasmussen to the Springville museum for $15,000 and commissioned Rasmussen to paint another for $10,000—putting the extra $5,000 in the art fund to buy additional paintings.
"We have a strong commitment to art. We believe it is important for a center like the Union to reflect the community through generations of different art," Luthi said.
But it may take generations to find the U's largely unnoticed art collection.
Olpin said he wouldn't be surprised if more paintings by well-known artists turn up in staff offices and other random places.
As for now, nobody seems to be interested in moving Fairbanks' painting from the garage.
In case you're wondering, Regina, there's a reason why you never see them.
They're fighting the good fight. Quelling danger, masked, caped and all.