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Sotheby’s exhibition helps Venice church

by Margaret Duggan

Le Brun_The Yellow HouseSOTHEBY’S in London has hosted a special exhibition this week to raise funds for St George’s, an Anglican church in Venice.

The chaplaincy there is celebrating the 400 years of its existence since the Embassy of James I. The present church dates only from 1889, but it is in need of total redecoration. The present Chaplain, the Revd John-Henry Bowden, estimates that 500,000 Euros are needed to complete the work.

As an ambitious piece of fund-raising, the church invited a group of artists to Venice as guests, to join with professional artists in the congregation in creating artworks for a London exhibition. The group included sculptors, printmakers, and photographers. All the works have been inspired by Venice, such as The Yellow House (2006) by Christopher Le Brun RA (above).

St George’s was originally a warehouse. It was recreated as an elegant church with fine stained-glass windows, and memorials to the long association between Venice and the British. It has a regular congregation of English-speaking residents, but also attracts many holiday visitors.

Like all European chaplaincies, it is self-supporting, having to raise money for stipends, month-by-month running costs, and building maintenance.

“Venice: City of Dreams?” is at Sotheby’s Conduit Street Gallery, 34-35 New Bond Street, London W1, 15-19 January, 9 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.



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