New Catholic Art

(From the website of St. Mary’s Church of Piscataway, Clinton, Maryland (1))

Henry Wingate is an artist dedicated to traditional art and specializing in oil paintings – many of Catholic religious subjects. He describes in a letter his recent work illustrated above:

“I received a great commission last summer to do a painting for a church in Southern Maryland of an historical event in the early history of the colony of Maryland. The subject was the baptism of the Tayac, or chief, of the Piscataway Indians by the Jesuit, Father Andrew White. This took place on July 5th, 1640. It is well documented because the Jesuits were required to send a yearly report on their efforts here in the New World to their superiors in Rome, and those documents are available to read.

The church that asked me to do the painting is Saint Mary’s of Piscataway. The baptism took place in the Piscataway Indian village which was someplace near where this church stands today, possibly even on the land owned by the church. The painting is in the entrance way to the church, and above the new baptismal font. I finished the painting after about seven months of work, in time for an Easter unveiling. At the Easter Mass their were three baptisms using the new font. Two of those baptized were descendants of Piscataway Native Americans. One of the most interesting things I learned while doing this project is that most of the Piscataways, to this day, are practicing Catholics. Father Andrew White’s efforts, and those of his fellow Maryland Jesuits, were very effective.

The painting is 16 feet across and nearly 13 feet high. It is on canvas that is glued to panels. I had to cut a slot in my studio wall just to get the painting out and into a truck to get it to Maryland.”

Henry Wingate’s website.

1)http://st-marys-church-of-piscataway.e-zekielcms.com