Outdoor Sketching

Francis Hopkinson Smith c. 1903
Courtesy of the Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons, LC-USZ62-98127

Francis Hopkinson Smith, author, artist and engineer, was a contemporary and intimate of many of the art masters of the 19th century and witness to the rapid development of 19th century through early 20th century art.

In 1914, Smith gave four lectures at the Art Institute of Chicago, where he talked about his methods, his views on realism (“detailism”) versus capturing one’s first impression, and art criticism of the day.  The lectures, compiled in a book called Outdoor Sketching, is available for free download at Project Gutenberg.

Smith is at turns poetic, humorous, self-deprecating and insightful, although his take on Winslow Homer’s The Cotton Pickers is jarring to the 21st century reader.

Artists and art lovers alike will enjoy reading these lectures.

Chapel of the Holy Cross

I recently took a trip to Arizona and visited the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona, which was commissioned by artist Marguerite Staude (1899–1988).  I thought I’d share some of the artwork that can be found at the chapel, especially since there isn’t much information about it online.



A bronze sculpture of St. Francis of Assisi by Bruno Groth (1905–1992) can be found along the path to the chapel.



This mosaic, designed by Staude, is located just outside the entrance of the chapel.  Lots of contextual iconography here:

The dove symbolizes both the Holy Spirit, with its flaming tail and wings depicted with red tiles, as well as the Dove of Peace, with the olive branch in its beak.  The receding of the Great Flood is suggested by the colors of the tiles in the negative space:  blue (water) and green (land).  The curved swath of deeper blue tiles bisecting the mosaic suggests water more forcefully, referring to the sacrament of baptism.  The juxtaposition of Great Flood and baptism iconography alludes to the deluge prefiguring the sacrament.  One could also argue that the mosaic more broadly represents the Old and New Testaments.

To the right of the entrance is Staude’s Madonna and Child sculpture.



To the left of the entrance is a 15th century Mexican sculpture of St. Michael the Archangel.  Notice the heads of the damned under his feet.



On my way out of the chapel, I noticed this lovely architectural detail.

All photos © 2013 Susan M. Lohse.  All rights reserved.