Icons by Sr. Ellen Francis, OSH

Mary Hodegetria (detail)

Iconographer’s statement:

Through the traditional media of egg tempera and gold leaf, I attempt to restore women to the significant place that they hold in the biblical narratives and in the life of the Church.  My work includes Mary Magdalene, depicted not as the penitent harlot but rather as the Apostle to the Apostles, as well as contemporary women, such as The Rev. Li Tim-Oi, who was the first woman to be ordained to the priesthood in the Anglican Communion in 1944.  I am currently working on an icon of Mary and Martha, talking with Jesus.

For more information on commissioning an icon for yourself or for your church, contact me at sisters@osh.org, by phone: 706-798-5201, ext. 213, or by mail:

The Rev. Ellen Francis, OSH
Convent of St. Helena
3042 Eagle Drive
Augusta GA 30906

Selected recent commissions:

Sts. Junia and Andronicus (private commission)
The Epiphany (Church of the Epiphany, NYC)
Christ Our Savior (Church of Our Savior, Chinatown, NY)
Sts. Junia and Andronicus (private commission)
Mary and Martha (St. Paul's on the Hill, Ossining NY) 2007
Mother of Tenderness (Church of the Epiphany, NY) 2007
The Rev. Li Tim-Oi (General Theological Seminary, NYC) 2005
St. Mary Magdalene (private commission) 2005
Baptism of Christ (St. Paul’s Church, Windham, CT) 2005
St. Benedict (Holy Cross Monastery, West Park NY) 2004
The Rev. Li Tim-Oi (Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London) 2004

Recent group shows:

“A Variety of Gifts”, group exhibition by members of the Episcopal Church and the Visual Arts, NYC Chapter, at Trinity Church, Wall Street, NY, April-June 2007.

The Vision Glorious, group exhibition by members of the Episcopal Church and the Visual Arts, NYC Chapter, at the General Theological Seminary, NY, October 2005.

Spirit’s Fire;, online exhibition, Episcopal Church and the Visual Arts, 2005.

Inside Outside, online exhibition, Episcopal Church and the Visual Arts, 2004

Icon study:

The Prosopon School at the Russian Orthodox Cathedral, NYC (iconography)
The Rev. John Walsted (iconography and early Renaissance egg tempera)
The School of Visual Arts (drawing and oil painting)

Publications:

“Visual Arts in the Episcopal Diocese of New York” The Episcopal New Yorker, September/October 2005, pp. 28-29.