A visitor to the Carmel, the cook and devout Catholic Delia Smith, was so impressed by Sister Wendys writing that in the late 80s she persuaded the Catholic Herald newspaper to publish them as a weekly series. BBC. She died on December 26, 2018. Its because of you that Im here today.. Postcards from God was created by Marcus Reeves, not the originators of Jerry Springer: The Musical as stated in an earlier version. But her health began to faltershe was epilepticand she was permitted to pursue the life of a hermit near a convent of Carmelite nuns in East Anglia. She graduated from Oxford University as an honor student in literature in 1954 but taught herself the history of art from the hermits trailer where she lived on the grounds of a Carmelite monastery in Norfolk, England. Sister Wendy Beckett: an unlikely star with an inspirational faith in beauty. Yet, while the contradiction could irritate some devout Catholics she was giving, they said, a misleading impression of religious life it was, for most, a key part of her appeal and brought her programmes large audiences. sister wendy beckett by TIM - YouTube thoughts about sister Wendy Beckett who died on 26th December thoughts about sister Wendy Beckett who died on 26th December. If I had known how much time it would take, I would never have started it.. In May 2009, Encounters with God: In Quest of the Ancient Icons of Mary was published, which follows Beckett's pilgrimage to see the earliest icons of Mary which had survived the Byzantine Iconoclasm. . December 31, 2018. December 26, 2018. Her order agreed to her living thereafter under the protection of the Carmelites in Norfolk as a hermit, devoting herself to prayer. Her great delight was reading, and, after studying at St Annes College, she graduated with a Congratulatory First in English Literature from Oxford J. R. R. Tolkein led the applause before spending two decades working as a teacher something that she regarded as a martyrdom. I dread being someone wholl fritter it away., Her profound expositions of the paintings are deceptively simple, wrote our TV reviewer in 2013, of Sister Wendy and the Art of the Gospel. Born in South Africa in 1930, she wanted to be a nun as a child, and joined the Sisters of Notre Dame, aged 16. To those who regarded her life as a hermit and a TV celebrity as self-contradictory, the response lay in her sense of obedience. SISTER Wendy Beckett, who died on 26 December, aged 88, had been a Religious, leading a solitary life for two decades before she accepted an invitation to appear in a BBC documentary about the National Gallery. No one else does it quite like you, one woman told her. The piece caught the eye of a British Broadcasting Company (BBC) producer, and in 1992 Sister Wendys Odyssey made its debut. Angry protests erupt over Greek rail disaster, Messages reveal battle over UK Covid policy, Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked minister's messages. Prior to that, she had studied English literature at Oxford University and taught in her native homeland of South Africa. For all her success, she remained a nun with commitments to prayer, solitude (when possible) and vows of poverty. Beckett is survived by her sister, Barbara. Sister Wendy eventually wrote some 25 books, including collections of poetry and meditations, and made a dozen documentaries, many released on DVD. Sister Wendy began. In 1970, she returned to England and moved into the trailer at the Carmelite Monastery. She died at the Carmelite Monastery in Quidenham at the age of 88. [33], Beckett died on 26 December 2018 at the Carmelite Monastery in Quidenham, Norfolk. Shame on you, Degas, she scolded the French Impressionist for portraying women in gawky poses. When Sister Wendy Beckett first shared her love of European paintings with public television viewers in 1997, the New York Times observed that the 67-year-old nun from a British monastery was . I know that the way God gives himself to me is not the way he gives himself to most people, and its no good just talking about God and me., Sometimes, I wake up breathless with wonder at what God has given me, she said. In the late 1990s, Sister Wendy Beckett visited the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for her series on U.S. museums. At 16, she entered the Sisters of Notre Dame in England and began religious life as Sister Michael. Sister Wendy died on December 26, 2018 at the age of 88. Schoolchildren ran to her side when they saw her crossing the county museums plaza. She died at the Carmelite Monastery in Quidenham at the age of 88. Even throughout her success, Beckett remained dedicated to the convent. Smith also drove her around the country to meet the artists when Beckett was writing her book about contemporary women artists. In fact, anyone who has a narrow sense of their religion, whether theyre Jew or Christian or Muslim or whatever, has only to look long and intelligently at the great work of another tradition and they will see what the religions have in common. At some stage, she would walk over to the Carmel to collect food and her post and then turn in for the night at 6pm. , An Interview,Sister Wendys American Collection, PBS. Oxford University List of Members for the Year 1972, London, OUP, 1972, p.720, which records full name. Sister Wendy Beckett (1930 - 2018) was the unlikely star of art history documentary programs on the BBC. Cookie Settings, Dried Lake Reveals New Statue on Easter Island. Surely, most people would be deeply moved by this programme, and drawn to the conclusion that there might be more to this Christianity stuff than they had ever thought., SISTER MARGARET DEWEY SSM, who died on 8 June, aged 94, belonged to an upstate New York family, whose ancestors arrived from England in the 17th century. Wendy is greatly missed by her husband Eugene, daughters Amanda (Jay) and Nicole (Tyler), sister Cheri, grandchildren Lochlan, Beckett, Evera, Nessaya and extended family. Sign up and get your dose of art history delivered straight to your inbox! She called her television debut at the Norfolk gallery the fatal moment, in her interview with the Times. She was a hit, a natural if eccentric personality with a gift for drama that made art accessible to the general public. The Republican Homepage. By 2002, Beckett had published some 20 books and completed 11 art programs for public television. Becoming a television star certainly seemed like an unlikely path for Beckett who was raised in Edinburgh when she joined the teaching order of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur at just 16. Church Times 2023. Traveling from museum to museum, filmed by the BBC, she shared her immense knowledge about painting and painters, her contemplative insights, and her unorthodox enthusiasm. Speaking to PBS in 2000 about her U.S. series, Sister Wendys American Collection, she said, I hope that everybody who watches it will realize what art has for them; that this is their heritage, that they are foolish not to explore it, and that the exploration is pleasurable., Brigit Katz My time is for God. All he can do is lift up a flaccid finger, and out of the clouds whirls down the God of Power. Sympathy Ideas . After Sister Wendys American Collection and Sister Wendy at the Norton Simon Museum had made her name with US TV viewers in 2001-02, she declined any further offers. BBC director of arts Jonty Claypole paid tribute, saying Sister Wendy had "a unique presentation style, a deep knowledge of and passion for the arts". It is most common to talk about paintings or sculptures inspired by a piece of literature. DailyArt Magazine needs your support. That is too final a word. They might think a nun had church-y designs on them, she admitted. From an early age she intended to become a nun, and at 16 she joined the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, a teaching order, as Sister Michael of St. Peter. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. LONDON (AP) Sister Wendy Beckett, an art historian and critic who rose to prominence on TV late in life, has died. Logging in will also give you access to commenting features on our website. Im all for atheists, she once announced. In 1991 the BBC commissioned her to present a television documentary on the National Gallery in London. Lawson, Mark. In private and occasionally in public she would question the churchs strict code on sexual ethics as a distraction from the real business of bringing people to God, whatever their gender, chosen method of contraception or orientation. As a hermit, she did not feel the need to belong to any particular order. Take it and sit by the window in the sunlight and slowly and reverently eat this dish., Her first book on art, Contemporary Women Artists, was published in 1988. David Willcock, executive producer for Spire Films, has worked with Sister Wendy Beckett on several of her series. And when she did begin studying it, she did so all on her own, through books. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. She claimed to not really like either the travel or the attention involved in her endeavors, but she said she felt good when hearing from people who were positively impacted by her work. Wondering why we ask for your email, or having trouble registering. Royalties and residuals amounted to an income large enough for her to replace her trailer-hermitage for a newer model, with heat, and to put aside some money for her retirement, as well as help pay the convents expenses. Her own preferences among the current generation featured figurative and often religious painters such as Greg Tricker, Simon Garden and James Gillick. Beckett began her art career as a magazine critic, reviewing exhibitions for small British art journals in the mid-1980s and published her first art book, Contemporary Women Artists, in 1988. (Orbis/Twitter via @carmelitespirit) Back in the 1990s, Sister Wendy Beckett (1930-2018), a contemplative nun and consecrated virgin, delighted audiences worldwide with her lively BBC documentaries on the history of art. [12] Sister Wendy Contemplates Saint Paul in Art was published in 2008 to celebrate the Year of Saint Paul. According to The New York Times, she attended mass daily. It was a slightly daunting task to contact her, but no less daunting was the tiny handwriting in which her contributions returned. Sister Wendy Beckett, the cloistered nun who ventured out of seclusion to become a celebrity art critic and historian, died Wednesday at Englands Carmelite Monastery Quidenham in Norfolk, according to the BBC. Health problems combined with the dream of a contemplative life, which she had abandoned when she entered her order of teaching nuns, led Beckett back to England. As the BBC reports, Sister Wendy died Wednesday, December 26, at the age of 88. The greatest reward I could have is to know that, despite my inadequacies, more and more people are coming to believe in their own powers of artistic appreciation., Sister Wendy Beckett, Sister Wendys Grand Tour, 12. December 26, 2018. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine At funeral, pope remembers Benedict's 'wisdom, tenderness, devotion' by . God is such a total mystery. There she lived in a house trailer with only the most basic amenities, working two hours a day. [7] J. R. R. Tolkien was president of her final examinations board and asked her to stay on at the university, an invitation which she declined. They delivered her meals to the unheated trailer where she slept on the floor, surrounded by towers of art books. Some people who were mainly other art historians and public figures didnt appreciate her black habit, big teeth, or lack of formal art history training. I really didnt think it was anything. In moments of candour, though, she would admit that she liked to share knowledge she had originally joined a teaching order, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, in 1947, but had to give up the classroom after having epileptic seizures brought on by stress. While still a child, Beckett moved with her family to Scotland. Search by Name. Captains of industry rush around to find her a needle and thread, he said of a typical day with Sister Wendy. Her favorite artists, according to the Times, were Poussin, Velazquez, Goya, Titian and Cezanne, some of the most revered names in art history. She and Michelangelo are no doubt having an in depth eternal discussion about the latters art work in the Sistine Chapel. Her attitude to Sister Wendy on Prayer, published in 2007, was ambivalent. if you are trying to comment, you must log in or set up a new account. She died at the Carmelite Monastery in Quidenham at the age of 88. Our Diocesan Mission & Ministry Committee exists to help each congregation to grow in their mission and ministry under this vision, and wishes to appoint to a new post to support its work. Sister Wendy. In 1950 she enrolled at the University of Oxford, graduating (1954) with top honours in English. This book, entitled The Iconic Jesus, takes the reader through scenes from the New Testament, accompanied by Beckett's reflections. This recording, from the translation by M. L. Del Mastro and adapted for Sister Wendy by Donna K. Triggs, was finally released as a CD in 2021, entitled Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich read by Sister Wendy Beckett. Find an Obituary. She taught in Cape Town, South Africa, and Liverpool in northern England. Her programmes included Odyssey, Sister Wendy's Grand Tour and Sister Wendy's Story of Painting. Her favourite choice was "Serenade" (D 957 No. However, she occasionally made television appearances, and Sister Wendy at the Norton Simon Museum, a TV movie commissioned by the Norton Simon Art Foundation, aired in 2002. She would find time for a couple of hours of work, writing the occasional article and a series of well-received books on prayer, St Paul and the religious festivals. Meet Sister Wendy. Corrections? She had also written 15 books on art and religion, and was a celebrity on both sides of the Atlantic, featured in articles and mobbed by fans. Interview with Clive Anderson, BBC Radio 2, 28 January 2007, Postcards from God: The Sister Wendy Musical, "World of Sister Wendy Beckett, nun and art historian", "Sister Wendy Beckett, Nun Who Became a BBC Star, Dies at 88", "Sister Wendy Beckett British nun and art critic", "Sister Wendy Beckett | British nun and art critic", "Sister Wendy At The Norton Simon Museum", "500 Years On, The Vatican Museums Go Digital", "Sister Wendy's American Collection About the Series Buy the Book", "BBC Four Churches: How to Read Them, Reformation: Chaos and Creation", "BBC Four Arena, Sister Wendy and the Art of the Gospel", "Arena Sister Wendy and the Art of the Gospel", "She May Not Get Out Much, but She Does Know a Lot About Art", "BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs, Sister Wendy Beckett", "Sister Wendy Beckett, TV art historian, dies at 88", "Wendy Beckett Books List of books by author Wendy Beckett", "Publication: The Christ Journey Sister Wendy Beckett reflects on the art of Greg Tricker", "Sister Wendy Contemplates Saint Paul in Art 9780854397525 by Beckett, Wendy- St Pauls Publishing of 0/11/2008", "Speaking to the Heart: 100 Favourite Poems by Wendy Beckett - Books", "Sister Wendy Beckett - British nun and art critic", "Inner Life: A Fellow Traveler's Guide to Prayer", "The Duke and the Peasant: Life in the Middle Ages (Adventures in Art Series)", "Nonfiction Book Review: Mystical Now C by Sister Wendy Beckett, Author, Wendy Beckett, Author Universe Publishing(NY) $25.95 (160p) ISBN 978-0-87663-647-3", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wendy_Beckett&oldid=1126090621, This page was last edited on 7 December 2022, at 13:18. Her request was granted, and in 1970 she moved back to England, settling on the grounds of the Carmelite monastery in Quidenham, Norfolk. For many people, including . Articles by The Associated Press, The AP. Those who believe in him most are most aware of his non-feelability, as it were. "She was a hugely popular BBC presenter and will be fondly remembered by us all. Sister Wendy always placed great value on art being accessible and enjoyable for everybody. McFadden, Robert D. Sister Wendy Beckett, Nun Who Became a BBC Star, Dies at 88. She was, the Church Times TV critic at that time, David Johnson, observed, an unself-conscious natural for television. A scene inside the Vatican from Sister Wendys Story of Painting, one of her many BBC series. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. She had regular contact with just one other person: the nun who brought her milk and the mail. Wendy's family welcomes you to join a mass service at 11:00 on Thursday February 23, 2023 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH) in Kamloops BC, followed by a Celebration of . Sister Wendy was definitely not what you would expect in either an art critic or a television personality. For a 10-part 1994 BBC series, Sister Wendys Grand Tour, she crossed Europe and for the first time swooned over Matisse and Czanne at the Louvre in Paris, Michelangelos Piet in Rome, the canvases of Rembrandt and van Gogh in Amsterdam, and the art treasures of Madrid, Florence, Venice and Berlin. Her steel could also be glimpsed in relation to what she insisted was her own very minor celebrity. She insisted, however, on describing the depiction of the human anatomy in art when it was called for, stating that "God did not make a mistake when He created the human body, so I am not making a mistake by describing it.". PEOPLE Picks the Best New Books of the Week, 'Top Chef' Houston: Meet the Chefs Competing on the New Season of Bravo's Food Series. Sister Wendy never sought a life in the spotlight. Wendy Mary Beckett[1] (25 February 1930 26 December 2018), better known as Sister Wendy, was a British religious sister and art historian[2] who became known internationally during the 1990s when she presented a series of BBC television documentaries on the history of art. Her work has appeared in a number of publications, including NYmag.com, Flavorwire and Tina Brown Media's Women in the World. Try, even for a few moments, to find a place apart. There was no big Should I give up the caravan to do television? or Am I spoiling my hermit life? she recalled in her book Sister Wendy on Prayer (2006). She died at the Carmelite Monastery in Quidenham at the age of 88. Video, Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked minister's messages, Harry and Meghan told to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, Whiskey fungus forces Jack Daniels to stop construction, Explosive found in check-in luggage at US airport, Messages reveal battle over Covid school policy, Covid messages leak a massive betrayal - Hancock, Rare Jurassic-era bug found at Arkansas Walmart, India PM Modi urges G20 to overcome divisions, Aboriginal spears taken in 1770 to return to Sydney. Museum postcards and exhibition catalogs were her main research materials. In 1999, Beckett visited the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for her series on U.S. museums, called Sister Wendys American Collection. By then, her videos were sold in bookstores and used in art appreciation classes. At an art exhibit in Norfolk, where a BBC camera crew happened to be taping a documentary about feminist author Germaine Greer, Beckett was asked to give her impression of the show on tape. She assigned all her earnings to a Carmelite order that had sheltered her for decades, and she attended Mass daily, even when traveling. She cut an unconventional figure for a television personality with her black nuns habit and oversized eyeglasses. Sister Wendy Beckett (1930 - 2018) was the unlikely star of art history documentary programs on the BBC. After graduating in style, however, she soldiered on for 17 years in convent schools in South Africa, feeling she had no alternative, until finally her health collapsed. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. See also The Art of Looking at Art, a Britannica sidebar written by Sister Wendy. Behind her gentle, toothy smile, though, Sister Wendy could be fierce. Carmen Hermo, January 8, 2019 British nun and art critic, Sister Wendy Beckett. When Randall Wright, a BBC arts producer, happened to see her on a regional network, he recruited her for a documentary called Sister Wendys Odyssey. Her most ambitious series, Sister Wendys Story of Painting, took her 30,000 miles through Europe, the Middle East and the United States, to survey works ranging from prehistoric cave paintings in France to the masterpieces of Picasso and the Pop Art of Andy Warhol. Once she had finished her degree, Sister Wendy returned to South Africa and spent some 20 years teaching in convent schools. The Most Memorable Contestants of 'American Idol': Where Are They Now? For the column Prayer for the Week in August 2004, she chose the shortest and most immediate of biblical and other prayers, about which she wrote with a directness that came from discipline both intellectual and spiritual. Sister Wendy speaking about the true meaning of Christmas and iconography (video originally published in 2010). Asked once to explain her choice, she said, I am a nun. We never missed her in our house. Her health was never good she had suffered from a weak heart since childhood and could very quickly run out of energy in mid-take. Nicknamed the Art Nun, she offered eloquent and down-to-earth commentary that made art accessible to everyone. Until she was 61, she had been a model of worldly renunciation: a hermit living in a windowless trailer on the grounds of the Carmelite Monastery in East Anglia, subsisting mainly on skim milk and rarely speaking to anyone. She died at the Carmelite Monastery in Quidenham at the age of 88. SISTER Wendy Beckett, who died on 26 December, aged 88, had been a Religious, leading a solitary life for two decades before she accepted an invitation to appear in a BBC documentary about the National Gallery. From an early age she wanted to be a nun, and at age 16 she joined the Sisters of Notre Dame. When she's not being an art historian, she can usually be found ice skating and dancing. Every contribution, however big or small, is very valuable for our future. My profound appeal is that hell make it possible for me to live up to it. She studied literature at Oxford in the early 1950s, living in a convent and observing its strict code of silence for four years. But audiences were captivated by her richly human tales, which brought art to life. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sister-Wendy-Beckett, PBS Online - Sister Wendy's American Collection. Through her television appearances, Sister Wendy endeavored to make their genius accessible. HEATHER KING. "[5], Beckett was born in the Union of South Africa, but was later raised in Edinburgh, Scotland where her father was studying medicine. Sister Wendy Beckett Obituary. She died at 14:30 GMT at the Carmelite monastery in Quidenham. Los Angeles, Stranger Things play that may hold key to the end taking 1959 Hawkins to West End, Commentary: Now hiring! Omissions? It was only a feeling: it was not reality., Death is the climax of our life, when we pass into the presence of God, Sister Wendy observed in 2012. Your source for jobs, books, retreats, and much more. In view of her religious state, this came as a surprise to some viewers. Aside from the sheer novelty of having a nun on mainstream television unknown since the brief chart-topping career of Jeanine Deckers, the Singing Nun of the early 1960s Sister Wendys success rested largely on her formidable intellect (she received a congratulatory first in English from St Annes College, Oxford, in 1953) and her sure-footed ability to bridge the gulf between fine art and a popular audience. Critics pointed to her gapped teeth and her way of pronouncing r as if it were w. Her producers were more impressed by the pithy, ad-lib analyses she could fit neatly into a soundbite, a feat that won her a reputation as one-take Wendy., From the airing of her first series, Sister Wendys Odyssey, in 1992, she evaluated artworks as if the artist were standing beside her. It drew 3.5 million viewers, and it secured her stardom. By then, viewers were accustomed to her mischievous humor and unconventional views. | They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. In a 2000 interview with PBS, she explained her appreciation of non-Christian religious art: all great religions are great because theyre based upon the longings of the human heart. No one would dare write a book about how a husband and wife are to talk to each other, she commented in an interview (Features, 17 October 2007). In fact, she didnt actually see most works in person until she visited museums to film her lectures. Theyre considered the most successful BBC arts programs since art historian Kenneth Clarks landmark 1969 documentaries, Civilisation. When they overheard Sister Wendys musings on the art, the crew members trained their camera on her, kickstarting her unlikely career on the small screen, as host of a series of beloved programs about the worlds greatest artworks. Sister Wendy Beckett, the TV star and art historian, has died at the age of 88. She had a a unique presentation style, a deep knowledge of and passion for the arts, remembers Jonty Claypole, director of arts at the BBC, which broadcasted Sister Wendys programs. She obtained papal permission to leave her congregation and to become a consecrated virgin and hermit. Many are available at local libraries, and you can also see clips of her documentaries on YouTube. Bending backward in her black habit in the Vaticans Sistine Chapel, gazing up through large eyeglasses at Michelangelos The Creation of Adam, Sister Wendy spoke with a storytellers wonder at the solemn, sensuous moment on the ceiling as two fingertips near the touch that begat the creation of life. Time Magazine. Her first book, Contemporary Women Artists, was published in 1988. And her pubic hair is so soft and fluffy., For the rest of her life she was asked to explain her views on sex. She was a brilliant art critic.". When approached, during a trip to a London gallery, by a fan who wanted to get into contact with her about a personal problem, Sister Wendy smiled kindly but, once the woman had gone, remarked, I hope that woman doesnt write to me. Had she been worldlier, she used to reflect, she would never have joined the Notre Dame de Namur sisters the order that ran her own school because she was physically unsuited to the rigours of classroom teaching. He spoke with her in late 2000, shortly after they had completed their visit. She loved Star Trek, horse racing and swigging Baileys: Art-loving Sister Wendy really was a one-off masterpieces, says JANE FRYER. In her honor, let's learn a few important things from Sister Wendy. (Photo by Neville Elder/Corbis/Getty Images) Share Carmen Hermo Related Articles Want to Learn Art History? Wendy Mary Beckett was born in Johannesburg on Feb. 25, 1930, to Aubrey and Dorothy (Sheehan) Beckett. Sister Wendy was well educated, but not in art history. Low-profile art world family seeks personal assistant, NBCs Chicago series have strong showings but CBS wins weekly TV ratings race, Hunger Games star Jena Malone says someone I had worked with sexually assaulted her, Travis Barkers finger injury delays Blink-182 tour: One of those freak accidents. Sister Wendy Beckett was a BBC presenter and art historian. What Sister Wendy Beckett, the Late Nun and Popular Art Historian, Taught Me About Being a Curator She made me want to study art history. Accessed online. She is survived by a brother, Wendell. Sister Wendys American Collection. [2] Besides having received the Carmelite prioress and a nun who brought her provisions, she dedicated her life to solitude and prayer, but allotted two hours of work per day to earn her living. And her views on God were challenging. Sister Wendy Beckett (1930 - 2018) was the unlikely star of art history documentary programs on the BBC. In addition to her work on the small screen, Sister Wendy continued to write art books, including The Story of Painting (1994) and Sister Wendys American Masterpieces (2000). Despite her old-fashioned garb, her views on Catholicism were anything but traditional. She was a sister of the Catholic Church who became prominent in the 1990s presenting BBC shows about art history. You make such a fool of yourself.. And, while its always recommended to spend lots of time in the actual presence of artworks, you can still cultivate knowledge and appreciation even if your situation doesnt allow for it. Dave Quinn is an Editor for PEOPLE, working across a number of verticals including the Entertainment, Lifestyle and News teams.
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