Artist Anna Campbell Bliss, died peacefully at age 90 dreaming of her next great work.
In 1925 Anna Marie Campbell was born to loving parents in Morristown New Jersey. She grew up the middle of three children with a thirst for knowledge and a love for the library. She fondly remembered her uncle retelling adventures of his days as a merchant marine. These stories took Anna on her first trip abroad, where she personally led her brother on safari in the garden of her family home. These were the first of many adventures, fueled by her favorite past time, exploring the library stacks. It was these library expeditions where she found the world of art and architecture and acquired a taste for the exhilaration they offered.
A close family friend encouraged her to pursue her education and sponsored her attendance to Wellsley College where she received her degree in art and science. In her final semester she attended classes at Harvard and found an ideal paring of these disciplines, a master\s degree in architecture. In the fall of 1947 she was invited to a dinner party where she met the love of her life, a young architect, Robert Bliss. He escorted her home that evening by way of the drafting room. They were married three months later.
That summer the newlyweds received a traveling fellowship, grabbed their bikes and set their eyes on Europe. This would be the first of many great adventures abroad with constant immersion in the craft of architecture and the color of art. With their return to the states they founded their firm, Bliss and Campbell Architects and settled in Minnesota. Art was always present; design, drafting and refining her craft was a lifelong pursuit and passion.
In 1961 they moved to Salt Lake City where Anna made her career as an artist. Looking for inspiration she studied movement in dance with the Repertory Dance Theater and learned drafting and computer programming. Additionally, she took a course in screen printing at the university and found she was drawn to the structure and clean lines that this technique offered. She used screen printing as an opportunity for exploring color combinations in series while employing her drafting talents with line weights to define depth and form. It is this intense pursuit of clarity and definition that would keep Anna up at night and wake her in the morning. Her next masterpiece was always a topic of discussion even within days of her peaceful passing.
Anna has contributed much to the international art community; an inspiration to both the mathematician and artist alike through the beauty and order she has found in our world. Her artwork graces the halls of public and private art collections, colleges, universities and museums.
On Thursday, October 15 the Cathedral of the Madeline will host mass at 11am celebrating the Life, Love, Art and Dreams of Anna Campbell Bliss. In lieu of flowers the Cathedral of the Madeline will be accepting donations in her name. Her ashes are scheduled to be scattered at the top of Hidden Peak. We are currently accepting wishes to attend.
