Emigration Canon, commissioned for the 1907 Utah State Fair and hung inside the very large Manufacturers Hall

Opening Day September 30, 1907 Salt Lake City, Utah

During a summer family visit to Salt Lake City, Utah for a week in August, Grell took over a failed mural commission, hired two assistants, stayed several months, delayed his return to Germany to attend the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich to complete this very large mural that hung high above the crowds during the Utah State Fair in 1907.  This is Grell’s historical depiction of Brigham Young’s famous discovery and statement, “THIS IS THE PLACE!”  The current location and status of the mural is unknown.  The Omaha World Herald reported it was 140′ long and the Topicks magazine by Albert Pick Hotels article stated it was 275′ long, when Grell conducted his reluctant one interview, by phone, for the Topicks article which came out in May 1948.

Below – an article discovered in March 2026 helps explain what Grell was doing during this visit to the United States from the summer 1907 to Spring 1908 at the young age of 19, then 20.  Grell was working on likely his first, of many Salome paintings, this one inspired by a Strauss opera of the same name he attended in Dresden before coming to the U.S.  He actually started the painting in Germany and finished it in Iowa.  A key discovery was learning that his large Emigration Canon mural was sent to Los Angeles and placed on exhibit after the Utah State Fair ended (The Daily Nonpareil, November 10, 1907 page 1).  The Nonpareil further reported that Grell returned to Germany in early May to begin his studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich.  Interestingly, Grell planned to spend the winter painting in the Hudson River Valley, New York, before returning to Germany in early 1908.

Acquiring the photograph of Immigration Canon showing Grell at work on the very large mural fulfilled one of our top research goals.  There is some confusion, however, as to when Grell actually returned to Germany in early 1908.  The local paper reported that he returned in late May, however this Munich Academy school portrait is signed in March.

The accompanying mural photo is a very rare image of Grell actually at work on a mural project.  He was 19.

oil on canvas, 20′ x 122′ (some reports have the murals’ length at 140 & 275 feet long)

articles courtesy of: Pick Topicks magazine, The Omaha World Herald & The Daily Nonpareil (Council Bluffs, IA)