"Anointing For Burial 02" on display at Work and Wonder: 200 Years of Latter-day Saint Art Exhibition, at the Church History Museum, Salt Lake City, UT, January 2025

Some of my family came to the opening. From left to right: my daughter-in-law, Ashley Dall, my son Taylor Dall, myself, my daughter Ginger Dall Egbert, holding her daughter Juniper, and my husband, Tim Dall.

Emma Santiago, model as the unnamed woman anointing Jesus, stands with the painting of "Anointing for Burial 02."

This work comes from a place of deep reflection, shaped by the story remembered on Wednesday of Holy Week—the unnamed woman who anointed Christ in anticipation of His burial. Her act is tender, prophetic, and often overlooked. But Christ Himself elevates her: “Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.” (Mark 14:9) The act of anointing Christ's head immediately brought a mental picture of an ordinance being performed, not unlike those performed my women in Latter-day Temples. Although the woman's act might have been perceived as surreptitious, I wanted to portray it front and center, which immediately informed my choice to depict this sacred moment centered in an arched composition, often used in religious iconography, and the tabernacle moulding base lends visual weight to memorialize the moment.

I’ve returned to this moment in the scripture several times in my work, as I have done with other scriptural moments. Its theme of devotion is compelling, The unnamed woman, an outsider, sees Christ clearly. She acts with costly devotion. Her gesture is misunderstood by those closest to Him, but honored by Christ Himself. I've come to learn that the same day (Spy Wednesday) remembers the betrayal already set in motion by Judas, one of the named and trusted Twelve. Thus the contrast of this woman’s act of devotion verses Judas’ betrayal is stark. I am sure I will return to this moment again in my work.

I feel deeply blessed and truly grateful to the Center for Latter-day Saint Art, who curated this show, for including this piece, and for the work they do in making space for thoughtful, sacred Latter-day Saint art. The Work and Wonder Exhibition brings together a vast and stunning array of works from artists across generations—young and established, contemporary and classic, modern and iconic spanning 200 years. The show was a moving experience for me as a participant, but to behold all that art from our cultural heritage all at once in one place was not only overwhelmingly stunning, it took by breath away.

As an interesting bit of trivia, one of the curators, Heather Belnap, approached me about exhibiting Anointing for Burial in its first iteration (in yellow). However, because they were unable to procure a loan of the yellow piece from its current owner, I specifically created a variation in green, Anointing for Burial 02 for this exhibition, which may seem odd since it is a retrospective show, but Heather wanted to include this piece, specifically because it depicts Christ interacting with a woman. And furthermore, because I historically paint similar themes over and over, I felt it to be kosher to show its variation in green.