It drew 3.5 million viewers, and it secured her stardom. She cut an unconventional figure for a television personality with her black nuns habit and oversized eyeglasses. This article was amended on 31 December 2018. Find an Obituary. She was 88. 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. Theres little question that she caught a lot of peoples attention by walking around major museums in her nuns attire, looking and sounding like a conservative grandmother, and then saying perceptive and sassy things like this She had a musical written about her, so people clearly found her compelling. More series followed, including a ten-part documentary that saw Sister Wendy travel to visit artworks in 12 different countries. Fryer, Jane. God is such a total mystery. Sister Wendys Story of Painting. Dont think, fat little bloke, she said. The Carmelite Monastery of Quidenham said Beckett died at the . Even throughout her success, Beckett remained dedicated to the convent. Sister Wendy Beckett (1930 - 2018) was the unlikely star of art history documentary programs on the BBC. From the time she appeared in her first art appreciation program on BBC in 1991, Becketts provocative and witty commentaries captured the attention of museum curators, book publishers and art critics as well as art lovers around the world. Cookie Settings, Dried Lake Reveals New Statue on Easter Island. 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. if you are trying to comment, you must log in or set up a new account. Alexandra Kiely Sister Wendy Beckett . Destructive 'Super Pigs' From Canada Threaten the Northern U.S. Did an Ancient Magnetic Field Reversal Cause Chaos for Life on Earth 42,000 Years Ago? In the 19th century, Europeans went crazy for one story: Atala, or the Story of Two Lovers in the Desert. Sister Wendys Grand Tour: Discovering Europes Greatest Art. She died at the Carmelite Monastery in Quidenham at the age of 88. 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. Sister Wendys Book of Saints, published in 1998, was well received. To those who regarded her life as a hermit and a TV celebrity as self-contradictory, the response lay in her sense of obedience. You can find a full list of her works here. In 1991, after 45 years of the cloistered life, Sister Wendy Beckett stepped out of the convent and into London's National Gallery. By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes. And indeed wicked it is! They might think a nun had church-y designs on them, she admitted. The Guardian. Dave Quinn is an Editor for PEOPLE, working across a number of verticals including the Entertainment, Lifestyle and News teams. A word that appears frequently is unwanted. She was born Wendy Beckett, in East London, South Africa, one of two children. 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. Standing before a double nude portrait by modern British painter Stanley Spencer, she observed, I love all those glistening strands of his hair. Her novelty may have also worn off for commissioners in Britain, for her subsequent attempt to return to our screens to present a short series on Orthodox icons, a great passion, failed to find a taker. The capacity to see, to open up the vision of reality that an artist offers, is innate in us all. At the British Museum, standing beside a Greek wine jar painted 2,500 years ago, she embroidered the portrayal of Achilles slaying Penthesilea, the Amazon queen, at the fall of Troy. The series was a hit, and Sister Wendy, a habit-wearing consecrated virgin with a speech impediment, became the most unlikeliest of stars. She was 88. Sister Wendy was definitely not what you would expect in either an art critic or a television personality. We love art history and writing about it. Thats why I have so much respect and admiration for her mission to share her love of art with the world. (Read Sister Wendys Britannica essay on art.). Brigit Katz is a freelance writer based in Toronto. 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. Meet Sister Wendy. Lawson, Mark. 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. Submit an Obituary. The austerity and simplicity of this lifestyle was reflected when she was later briefly diverted into food writing for The Daily Telegraph in 1994: Make yourself a cup of tea and cut a nice slice of brown bread, she instructed. She graduated at the top of her class. I have an electric kettle, fridge, warming oven and night storage heater, so my life is as comfortable as it needs to be., Sister Wendy Beckett, Nun Who Became a BBC Star, Dies at 88, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/26/obituaries/sister-wendy-beckett-dead.html. Sister Wendys American Collection. 11 January 2019 min Read, Sister Wendy Beckett, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Sept. 4, 1997. December 27, 2018. I thought it was just a weekend here or there.. 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. She was a brilliant art critic.". 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. She became Sister Wendy after Vatican reforms relaxed formalities. Her intense empathy for them may well have been fuelled by her own sense of being unwanted by God. Born in South Africa in 1930, she wanted to be a nun as a child, and joined the Sisters of Notre Dame, aged 16. Viewers were astonished and delighted, especially by some of her uninhibited expressions of rapture. (You will need to register. In the early 1970s, she was released from her vows as a Sister of Notre Dame and changed her religious status to consecrated virgin, with the blessing of the Vatican. Sister Wendy. Please contact us at members@americamedia.org with any questions. Star Wendy Beckett See production, box office & company info Search on Amazon search for Blu-ray and DVD Add to Watchlist She in turn contributed most of her income to the convent. 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. 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. Sister Wendy was small and stooped, with a plain face, buck teeth and a slight speech impediment that rendered Rs as Ws. She soared to international stardom with her 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. In fact, being unusual might have even helped her. Her unique style drew close to 4 million viewers, mesmerized by her billowing black robes and unpretentious observations. She was 88. This book, entitled The Iconic Jesus, takes the reader through scenes from the New Testament, accompanied by Beckett's reflections. Beal sent it to her without charge. [12], Beckett was often effusively verbal in her descriptions of the human body in paintings, both male and female. Despite her old-fashioned garb, her views on Catholicism were anything but traditional. I really didnt think it was anything. Sister Wendy Beckett (1930-2018) was probably the world's most unconventional art historian. I guess Im not the only one she was writing to.. Sister Wendy Beckett, (born February 25, 1930, Johannesburg, South Africadied December 26, 2018, East Harling, England), South African-born British nun who appeared on a series of popular television shows and wrote a number of books as an art critic. For all her success, she remained a nun with commitments to prayer, solitude (when possible) and vows of poverty. In 1946, she entered the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, a Roman Catholic congregation of religious sisters dedicated to education. It is not that they were strong enough, or virtuous enough, to win his love, because that love is always freely given, but only those we call saints actually did that blessed taking; accepted the reality of being loved with all its consequences, she wrote. Reminding viewers that this child was the son of God in Christian theology, she offered her unconventional best advice. Privacy Statement TV art historian and nun Sister Wendy Beckett has died at the age of 88, it has been announced. She was a Carmelite nun who became famous making art documentaries for British and U.S. television. Think young sumo wrestler.. Alexandra believes that enjoying the art of the past is the closest she can get to time travel, only much safer. In 2001 poor health and a desire to return to a life of solitude led Sister Wendy to announce that she was ending her BBC series. Sister Wendy Beckett: an unlikely star with an inspirational faith in beauty. [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. Sister Wendy Beckett, the cloistered nun who ventured out of seclusion to . Soon enough, you will be saying with Peter, Lord, it is good that we are here., Cardinal Wilton Gregory said that Pope Francis has made it difficult for Americans to be comfortable with just one aspect of Catholic Social Teachingyouve got to have them all.. this helps us promote a safe and accountable online community, and allows us to update you when other commenters reply to your posts. Theyre concerned with the big, beautiful fundamentals, and there I have never had any problem. As Catholics enter into Lent, a season that we mark by acts of both repentance and service, it is worth considering how we might move from alarm at antisemitism to action. [3] Her programmes, such as Sister Wendy's Odyssey and Sister Wendy's Grand Tour, often drew a 25 percent share of the British viewing audience. Nun and art critic who found fame in the 1990s with her popular TV programmes, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. 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. But her unorthodox spiritual insights suggested otherwise. In her passion for self-denial, she had not seen a movie since 1945, visited a museum or even seen a great painting, only reproductions in books. Could you be called to shape the future of Mission and Ministry across the Diocese of Worcester? 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. Pulse Nightclub Mass Shooting: Remembering the 49 Victims, 6 Years Later, Heaven's Gate, 25 Years Later: Remembering 38 People Who Died with Cult Leader, Clifford Alexander Jr., First Black Secretary of the U.S. Army, Dies at 88, Oprah Winfrey Shares Her Dad Has Died at Age 88 Following Illness: 'We Could Feel Peace Enter the Room', Kathryn Hays, Beloved 'As the World Turns' Actress, Dead at 88, Meet the Talented Emerging Artists That Should Be on Your Playlists This Spring, A Gallery of Great Professors Agree That An Interested Student Is What Their Job Is About, Alaska Rep. Don Young, Longest Serving Member in Current U.S. Congress, Dies at 88, We Came from the Sea: Now, Says Thomas Mann's Daughter Elisabeth, We Must Return to It, Carmelite Monastery in Quidenham, England, 25 percent share of the British viewing audience, the Vatican granting her permission to pursue a life of solitude and prayer. Give yourself over to contemplation. Menu. She was a hit, a natural if eccentric personality with a gift for drama that made art accessible to the general public. 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. 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). And Gods finger touches that of Man.. Mobile Register and Baldwin County. Postcards from God: The Sister Wendy Musical, created by Marcus Reeves, ran briefly and camply in a small West End venue. Read about our approach to external linking. 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. But those who made series such as Sister Wendys Odyssey (1992) and Sister Wendys Story of Painting (1996) recall that, at the time, she seemed to be enjoying herself on and off camera. He spoke with her in late 2000, shortly after they had completed their visit. She was an effective and knowledgeable presenter, and people enjoyed her quirky style and insights. That title, Contemporary Women Artists, was published in 1988. 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). She would get up at 1am, the best time for prayer and contemplation, she said. 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 had regular contact with just one other person: the nun who brought her milk and the mail. December 26, 2018. December 26, 2018. New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1994. Do you thrive on seeing people come to faith? ", Close friend Xinran Xue said Beckett's death was "a huge loss for the art world. In the 1980s, Sister Wendy obtained permission from her superiors to start studying art, which she did by combing through books and examining postcard reproductions of famous works. Maintaining her vow of poverty, she donated all her earnings to the Carmelite order. It was as she wanted it. She is survived by a brother, Wendell. Obituaries Section. She also penned books that focused solely on religion, notably Sister Wendy on Prayer (2010) and Spiritual Letters (2013). Your source for jobs, books, retreats, and much more. She was 88.[34]. Emerging from her hermit-like . 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. Corrections? Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. I loved listening to her talk about art. Graham Beal who was artistic director of LACMA in 1999, first met Beckett by mail decades earlier when he was with the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. The Most Memorable Contestants of 'American Idol': Where Are They Now? Asked once to explain her choice, she said, I am a nun. Yet, this relationship between arts is not unidirectional. Then go back to the festivities and give him to others.. She graduated from Oxford with high honors in English literature, and one of her original jobs in her monastery was translating Medieval Latin texts. She was ambivalent about celebrity. Postcards from God was created by Marcus Reeves, not the originators of Jerry Springer: The Musical as stated in an earlier version. Mobile Register and Baldwin County Homepage. 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. Now its on to find the true one.. [4] In 1997 she made her debut on US public television, with The New York Times describing her as "a sometime hermit who is fast on her way to becoming the most unlikely and famous art critic in the history of television. 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. Sister Wendy never sought a life in the spotlight. Born in South Africa, Sister Wendy moved as a child to Edinburgh, where her father studied medicine, joining a convent when she was 16. From then on, she was not a member of any religious order but continued to wear a homemade black habit, a variation on the one she wore as a Sister of Notre Dame. Asked how she managed to read so many crime novels, Beckett had a quick answer. I do not use the word died, as someone with Sister Wendy's warmth, faith and devotion to share her knowledge does not die. I was impressed by the depth of her knowledge, even of artists who are not well known, he said. Read reports from issues stretching back to 1863, search for your parish or see if any of the clergy you know get a mention. She began living in a caravan on the grounds of a Carmelite monastery at Quidenham, Norfolk, and her caravan was later replaced by a mobile home. 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. It was a slightly daunting task to contact her, but no less daunting was the tiny handwriting in which her contributions returned. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Every contribution, however big or small, is very valuable for our future. As it so happened, her trip coincided with a . In 1997 Sister Wendys series debuted on public television in the United States. 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