Week Thirty-Five: Hear the Wondrous Word of the Lord by Ruth Starr Rose

September 1, 2019

Week Thirty-Five: Hear the Wondrous Word of the Lord by Ruth Starr Rose

As we continue our tenth anniversary survey of artists in the on-line Sacred Art Pilgrim Collection, I have selected pieces for September on the theme of angels, since the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels will be celebrated at the end of the month. My first featured work is a color lithograph from 1942 by American Graphic Artist Ruth Starr Rose with a rousing depiction of the hosts of heaven with trumpets (and a mobile loud speaker system!) proclaiming the Word of the Lord to the ends of the universe. In a whimsical, sci-fi touch, futuristic space craft even blast across outer space. Born to privilege, Rose grew up on a historic estate on Maryland's Eastern Shore and saw first hand discrimination against the local African-American community. To promote racial equality, Rose became an important early white interpreter of the black experience, finding inspiration for her imagery in African American spirituals from which the title refrain was taken. (John Kohan)