Master Painter

Millions of people recognize the religious painting know as Head of Christ, of which an estimated five hundred million prints have been sold. Very few, however, know the artist, Warner E. Sallmann. Sallman's lack of notoriety in professional art circles can be explained by the fact that he made little or no attempt to put himself forward as a Chicago or even a Swedish American artist. He had no exhibitions of his works, and his public life consisted largely of appearances before church and community groups to do chalk drawings. More important was his attitude regarding personal fame. Sallman let the Christ he painted be in the foreground, while the artist remained in the background. ""The time has come,"" argues Jack Lundbom, ""for a broader public to know the man who stands behind the painting and the other artwork bearing the Sallman signature.""

Master Painter is a fascinating story of a gifted man with humble beginnings who overcame disappointment, ill health, and personal limitations in order to live out a vision: that his art serve not only for the enjoyment of humankind, but the practical end of instructing persons in the ways of God. Readers who know the art can now know the artist. It is a story eminently worth telling and one a broad public will be interested to know.


""This book is long overdue and most welcome. Warner Sallman's images of Christ have brought inspiration to millions of people around the world throughout most of the twentieth century, yet only now do we finally have an authoritative treatment of his life and work. Lundbom has compiled a thorough review of Sallman's body of work, set in both personal and professional context. His descriptions of the images are rich in detail, and he includes brief stories of the purposes of the artist at work. . . . But perhaps most important, Lundbom shows us the painter as a humble and committed man of faith who lived, in his son Jim's words, a 'portrait of a godly life through the artistry of living.' Sallman was above all a servant of his Lord, placing at his service the gift he had been given. . . . Master Painter is the story of a man for whom all the lines of his life and his work led to Christ, and we are indebted to Jack Lundbom for recording that legacy.""
--Glen R. Palmberg, President, The Evangelical Covenant Church


Jack R. Lundbom is currently Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, Illinois, and is an ordained Evangelical Covenant Church Minister.