Ben Long Fresco - Glendale Springs, NC

04/14/2022

The Charlotte Observer
Charlotte, North Carolina
19 Jun 1981, Fri • Page 61

04/12/2022

Charles Wiley Earnhardt was the model for the disciple Jude. He worked at Ashe Ordnance Works in Glendale Springs - they specialized in the restoration and reproduction of gun carriages and equipment for antique artillery of all eras up through World War One, but mainly Revolutionary War and Civil War.

04/12/2022

Larry Sorkin was the model for the disciple Matthew.

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Doug Schwartz was summoned from Michigan to participate in the fresco and was chosen to be John the Beloved. He was 30 years old when these sketches were made. Doug was a talented carpenter and contributed heavily to the Mission House and Holy Trinity Church renovations.

His wife, Nora, was one of Ben Long's students.

04/12/2022

William Raymond Francis, Jr. was the model for the disciple Andrew. He was very involved in the arts in West Jefferson and was an actor for years in the Ashe County Little Theatre. Bill was born in Ashe County, North Carolina to William Raymond Francis, Sr., and Elizabeth Akers Ervin on December 30, 1934.

Bill loved pharmacy, photography, skiing, biking, sailing, reading, nature, computers, and his many gadgets. Most of all, he loved his family and host of friends.

04/12/2022

The Ashe County Frescoes of Benjamin F. Long IV
By Janet C. Pittard, David B. Chiswell

04/12/2022

In the vestibule is The Agony of Christ , a fresco by Sheila Batiste, a young woman who was among a group of art students working with Mr. Long during the painting of The last Supper. She has portrayed the agony of crucifixion in stark terms, and with black features. In her picture, the face of Christ is the universal face of human pain.

Fresco Artist: Sheila Batiste

04/12/2022

D. Jeffrey Mims is a painter, educator, lecturer, and muralist who has been at the forefront of the revival of the classical tradition for the past 40 years. Mims attended the Rhode Island School of Design and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. In 1976, he received a Greenshields Foundation grant to support independent study in the museums of England, France, and Italy and in 1981 returned to Florence, Italy where he studied with the American painter Benjamin F. Long. For over a decade, he maintained studios in Italy and the US, during which time he executed both easel and public mural paintings.

D. Jeffrey Mims is founder and director of the Academy of Classical Design a school of fine art with an emphasis on traditional mural painting and architectural decoration. The Academy serves as the educational branch of The Classical Design Foundation, a US based non-profit which was established for the preservation and practice of classical design in the public realm.

You can see his current work here: http://www.academyofclassicaldesign.org/jeffreymimspaintingsdrawings/artwork-paintings.htm

04/12/2022

In the columbarium on the lower floor of the church is a fresco, The Departure of Christ was painted in 1984 by Jeffrey Mims.

This fresco depicts Jesus leaving his mother, home, and relatives to begin his ministry. Mr. Mims was a student of Ben Long and was commissioned to paint this fresco as a memorial to a young girl in the congregation who died at the age of 10 after being struck by a truck near St. Mary's Church. Based on this fresco, Mr. Mims won the American Classical Award for Art.

Fresco Artist: Jeffrey Mims

04/12/2022

Charles Gilbert Kapsner was a Fresco Apprentice under Ben Long IV, from 1975 - 1980 and is the artist who created the "Moses on Mt. Sinai" fresco.

You can see his current work here: http://www.buonfresco.com/cgk/

He taught at Queens University of Charlotte and Meredith College in NC and was an artist in residence at The Mint Museum and McColl Center in Charlotte.

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