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saint
michael the dragonslayer (Foreward to American Society of Classical Realism's "Guild of Artist" catalogue)  |
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We learn from the Book of
Revelation that Saint Michael slew the Dragon in the Great War of Heaven.
The Dragon was expelled from Heaven and landed here on Earth as Michael
proclaimed:
But woe to the earth and sea Michael’s charges
include fighting evil, rescuing and judging souls and championing all of
God’s people. He is the most important angel in Christian, Judaic, and
Islamic faiths. Religious art usually depicts Michael with either sword
or scales of judgment in hand. |
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In spring, 2000, on the Newington Cropsey Foundation property in
Hastings-on-Hudson, a bronzed statue of St. Michael was installed. St.
Michael is watching over the Gallery of Art Building with a pensive
countenance. He is kneeling, resting on his sword having just expelled
the Dragon from Heaven. The statue is very significant to the
Foundation, particularly as we enter the new millennium in this dark
period in American art and culture. One of the goals of the Foundation
is to bring to light the virtues of classic art training and strong
cultural values.
The recently discovered Dead Sea Scroll, “War of the Sons of
Light Against |
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The artist that created
the St. Michael statue is Barbara Newington, founder of the Newington
Cropsey Foundation. Mrs. Newington is a great-granddaughter of Jasper F.
Cropsey, Hudson River School artist. The Foundation was originally
conceived as a venue to display and preserve the works of Cropsey and
his home, Ever Rest, a National Historic Trust Site. Under the
Directorship of Mrs. Newington and the Administration of Adelia Rasines,
the Foundation has evolved into a multi-faceted art organization. The
Cultural Studies Center, directed by James F. Cooper, publishes the
American Arts Quarterly and hosts numerous lectures and symposium on
relevant art and cultural issues. Mr. Cooper authored the Foundation’s
book, “Knights of the Brush: The Hudson River School and the Moral
Landscape”. The Academy of Art, directed by Greg Wyatt, sculptor, has
placed many Academy students’ sculpture on American college campuses as
part of the Foundation’s classical art education program. |
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Mrs. Rasines has curated and
organized many important art exhibitions and events since the opening of
the Gallery Building in 1994. The American Society of Classical
Realism’s exhibit, Beauty: A Birth of Relevance, was hosted by
the Foundation in 1996. Other noted contemporary artists such as Douglas
Allen and Richard Serrin, among others, have also been exhibited. Virtues,
Truth and the Glorious Infinite, select works of William A
Bouguereau was hosted in Autumn, 1999. Scenes from a Century Past,
a collection of works by Hudson River artists such as Cropsey, Church,
and Bierstadt was exhibited in Spring of 2000. The dream of Barbara Newington has materialized as a Foundation striving to make a difference in today’s world by leading by example and stressing that which is good in Mankind. It is in the spirit of St. Michael and the ongoing quest for goodness and light that the Newington Cropsey Foundation continues its work.
Anthony
Speiser |
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the Sons of Darkness”, calls St. Michael the “Prince of Light” and
destroyer of Babylon. Traditionally, chapels (Michael’s Mounts) and
statues devoted to Michael are erected in trying times when the Earth
Dragon is thought to be strong. For many, the new millennium is a
continuation of a dark age void of goodness. The Foundation seeks to shed
light on present times and to reveal the goodness that exists in our
world. The Babylon of modern
