Karen Horne’s paintings are known for their vibrant color, lush paint, and convincing sense of gesture. The great-granddaughter of Alice Merrill Horne, and daughter of landscape painter, Phyllis Horne, she was fortunate to grow up with art. Horne graduated from Yale, completing her MFA in painting at Indiana University.  She then moved to Manhattan and worked at The Frick Collection.

During her dozen years living in NYC she painted the city’s “parade of life.” When she returned to SLC in 1996, she was pleasantly surprised by the downtown scene. She has since developed cityscapes celebrating landmarks such as the Capitol Theatre. Another recent series has focused on ballroom, ballet and tango dancers.

Horne has been fortunate to receive numerous awards, including the 2013 Mayor’s Visual Artist Award and the 2004 UAC Visual Arts Fellowship.  She was named  one of Utah’s 100 Most Honored Artists and received a prize at the National Academy of Design’s Annual Exhibition in NYC.

Karen Horne’s work has been featured in major cities including New York and San Francisco, and in two major exhibitions at the Springville Museum.  Collections include the State of Utah, Springville Museum, Salt Lake County, American Express and private collections nationally. She was commissioned to create large paintings on view at the Hilton Hotel.  Her restaurant and cityscape series have both been spotlighted in Southwest Art.

In 2003, she founded the studio/gallery HORNE Fine Art.  She has curated over a dozen group theme shows, including "Splash", "Headscapes", "Skyscapes", "Exploring Red", as well as solo shows of her work, Phyllis Horne, Ken Baxter and Jamie Wayman.

“With a brush of paint, artist Karen Horne can turn a far from exotic locale into a
neon beacon of romance.” —Salt Lake Magazine

"Best Impressionist Paintings of Salt Lake City" - City Weekly Arty

“…in the thrall of oil paint, employing it with gusto….”
– Mario Naves, Art Critic for the NY Observer

“These canvases pulse with real enjoyment of brush on canvas”
“…figurative studies that sizzle with pure color contrasts”
– George Dibble, Salt Lake Tribune