Sister Wendy. [12], Beckett was often effusively verbal in her descriptions of the human body in paintings, both male and female. Sister Wendy Beckett, who has died aged 88, could be dismissive of the high-profile television work that made this hermit nun with owl-like glasses into an unlikely household name during the 1990s. In the mid-1980s Sister Wendy, who had long been interested in art, began writing essays for British journals, using only postcards and books as her primary reference material. She was a sister of the Catholic Church who became prominent in the 1990s presenting BBC shows about art history. In 1954 Sister Wendy completed her teaching diploma in Liverpool and returned to South . 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. The nun passed away on Boxing Day 2018 at the age of 88 - here's everything you need to know about her. After attending a teachers college in Liverpool, England, she returned to South Africa, where she taught for 15 years. [33], Beckett died on 26 December 2018 at the Carmelite Monastery in Quidenham, Norfolk. Her work included a series of well received documentaries including "Sister Wendy's Odyssey" and "Sister Wendy's Grand Tour.". The routine she followed in the caravan was both simple and extraordinary. It drew 3.5 million viewers, and it secured her stardom. "Sister Wendy had a unique presentation style, a deep knowledge of and passion for the arts," BBC director of arts Jonty Claypole said. This was the main reason she ventured outside her beloved life of solitude to help people experience the joys and spiritual benefits of fine art, which she believed should be shared by all. Sister Wendy Beckett (1930 - 2018) was the unlikely star of art history documentary programs on the BBC. According to the Guardians Aamna Mohdin, Sister Wendys father worried that she was too young to make such a commitment, but her mother supported the decision. She graduated at the top of her class. "Bespectacled, bewimpled and with a decided lisp, the 67-year-old woman makes . Her order agreed to her living thereafter under the protection of the Carmelites in Norfolk as a hermit, devoting herself to prayer. 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. Password reset instructions will be sent to your registered email address. Sister Wendy always placed great value on art being accessible and enjoyable for everybody. Sister Wendy speaking about the true meaning of Christmas and iconography (video originally published in 2010). It was as she wanted it. A musical, Postcards from God: The Sister Wendy Musical, written by Marcus Reeves and Beccy Smith[31] was performed at the Jermyn Street Theatre in the West End in 2007 and Hackney Empire Studio Theatre in 2008. In 1970, she returned to England and moved into the trailer at the Carmelite Monastery. They have rejected the false god. The programs like Sister Wendys Odyssey, Sister Wendys Grand Tour, and Sister Wendys Story of a Painting were immediate hits, often drawing a 25 percent share of the British viewing audience, according to The New York Times. Making television isnt the kind of prayer I would have chosen, but its what God chose for me, she told her interviewer for the radio programme Desert Island Discs. You make such a fool of yourself.. Nicknamed the Art Nun, she offered eloquent and down-to-earth commentary that made art accessible to everyone. Beckett's death was a huge loss for the art world. Its a trivial little name. Sister Wendy Beckett Obituary. Sister Wendy was well educated, but not in art history. It launched her television career. Dave Quinn is an Editor for PEOPLE, working across a number of verticals including the Entertainment, Lifestyle and News teams. Sister Wendy's Story of Painting TV Series 1996 30 m IMDb RATING 7.9 /10 287 YOUR RATING Rate Documentary History Nun and art expert Sister Wendy Beckett, guides viewers on a chronological journey of the art medium. She graduated from Oxford with high honors in English literature, and one of her original jobs in her monastery was translating Medieval Latin texts. With humour and a gift for storytelling, she brought life and drama to the work. And when she did begin studying it, she did so all on her own, through books. To see how comfortably and frankly she handled paintings of nudity, watch this video about BotticellisBirth of Venus and this one about PicassosLes Desmoiselles dAvignon. But audiences were captivated by her richly human tales, which brought art to life. She died at the Carmelite Monastery in Quidenham at the age of 88. Emerging from her hermit-like existence in a caravan at a Carmelite monastery in Norfolk, she hosted unscripted BBC shows from galleries across the world. 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". Why am I being asked to create an account? At funeral, pope remembers Benedict's 'wisdom, tenderness, devotion' by . She spoke very comfortably and often highly of such works. Her appearance in an ITV programme, Visions, described as a beautiful vignette, was followed two years later by her own programme, Sister Wendys Odyssey. Sister Wendy Beckett, TV art historian, dies at 88. When asked once what she felt about God, she replied, sharply: I dont think anyone can feel God. Its going to happen, whether you try to put it off or not; so why not see it as a crowning?. Since youre a frequent reader of our website, we want to be able to share even more great, As a frequent reader of our website, you know how important, Sister Wendy Beckett meditates on Janet McKenzie's "The Holy Family", Cardinal Cupich: Critics of Pope Francis Latin Mass restrictions should listen to JPII, Cardinal McElroy on radical inclusion for L.G.B.T. Mobile Register and Baldwin County Homepage. She died at the Carmelite Monastery in Quidenham at the age of 88. It was while attending an art exhibit that a film crew overheard her comments and asked to videotape her. 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. And Gods finger touches that of Man.. She liked wonderful sweet people who thanked her for helping them understand paintings, she told The New York Times in 1997. Shame on you, Degas, she scolded the French Impressionist for portraying women in gawky poses. A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials. I think that this type of open-mindedness towards things outside our usual preferences is essential for every art lover. From Macbeth to Romeo and Juliet, William Three monotheistic religions are the so-called religions of the book. [11], Beckett spent many years translating Medieval Latin scripts before deciding, in 1980, to pursue art. 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. Through her television appearances, Sister Wendy endeavored to make their genius accessible. Captains of industry rush around to find her a needle and thread, he said of a typical day with Sister Wendy. Several years later, he moved to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and postcards from the Norfolk monastery arrived there. 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. 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. Sister Wendy Beckett (1930 - 2018) was the unlikely star of art history documentary programs on the BBC. Her favorite artists, according to the Times, were Poussin, Velazquez, Goya, Titian and Cezanne, some of the most revered names in art history. Of a postcoital self-portrait by Sir Stanley Spencer with Patricia Preece, Sister Wendy confessed, I love all those glistening strands of hair, and her pubic hair is so soft and fluffy., It was a sensation, widely quoted. Sister Wendys Story of Painting. Angry protests erupt over Greek rail disaster, Messages reveal battle over UK Covid policy, Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked minister's messages. Search by Name. 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. Her caravan in the grounds of the Carmel was small, cold and basic, but was crammed with postcards and calendars of works of art. She studied literature at Oxford in the early 1950s, living in a convent and observing its strict code of silence for four years. Her death was confirmed by the Carmelite Monastery in Quidenham, England, where she had lived in a trailer for decades, though not as a member of the Carmelite order. In the 1950s, Sister Wendys order sent her to Oxford University, where she studied English literature and was awarded a Congratulatory First, a prestigious honor that is only bestowed upon a select few students. Sister Wendy began stud Socialites give up their cab for her.. 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. No one else does it quite like you, one woman told her. 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). Rapidly establishing herself as an unconventional and engaging commentator, fizzing with enthusiasm, she became a household name in the 1990s, in spite of the life of seclusion which she maintained between television recording sessions. And her pubic hair is so soft and fluffy., For the rest of her life she was asked to explain her views on sex. By 1997, as she marked 50 years as a nun, the Oxford-educated Sister Wendy had made three television series, the most successful BBC arts programs since Civilisation, the art historian Kenneth Clarks landmark 1969 documentaries. Kalai, Leonidas. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. My time is for God. She cut an unconventional figure for a television personality with her black nuns habit and oversized eyeglasses. Her first book, Contemporary Women Artists, was published in 1988. We never missed her in our house. Sister Wendy Beckett the Roman Catholic nun who became an unconventional television star died on Wednesday at the age of 88, the Carmelite Monastery in Quidenham, England confirmed to. Her own preferences among the current generation featured figurative and often religious painters such as Greg Tricker, Simon Garden and James Gillick. Art Critique. Sister Wendy Beckett during her visit to the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham in 2004. She died at the Carmelite Monastery in Quidenham at the age of 88. 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. Sister Wendy began stud. Born in South Africa in 1930, Wendy Beckett received her dual vocations -- God and art -- early in life. Dont think, fat little bloke, she said. 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