"The Current" features a monthly look at some of the history of the Abbey, inspired by the Abbey's celebration of its 100th year. This month we call your attention to several subtle but significant works of art in the Abbey church.
by Blake Billings, Ph.D.
Many visitors to the Church of St. Gregory the Great note its beautiful Belluschi design, or the brilliant wire sculpture of Lippold. Of more profound significance to this sacred space, while positioned to the side, is the altar of the Blessed Sacrament. Hidden beneath cloth of varied liturgical colors, usually invisible to the eye, is the tabernacle. And visually setting off the entire area is a gentle and reflective tapestry, perfectly fitted to hang beneath the canopy above the altar where the host is reposed. We would like to pull back the veil, in a sense, on the two artists who produced these two works of art that subtly center this sacred heart of the church. The tabernacle, designed well before the present church and used in the chapel of the early priory, was created by a renowned California impressionist painter and liturgical artist, Euphemia Charlton Fortune – who preferred the name “Effie,” and was professionally known as E. Charlton Fortune. The tapestry was produced for its present location by Esther (Fehlen) Puccinelli, a less well-known figure, though with a no less intriguing story.
Effie Fortune was described by Victoria Dalkey in “The Sacramento Bee” as, “witty, independent-minded, outspoken and never-married, … a perfect example of ‘The New Woman’ who came of age at a time when women’s roles were being redefined, though women wouldn’t get the right to vote until (she) was 35.” Sarah Beserra, writing for "Resource Library Magazine," said: “Nothing Euphemia Charlton Fortune ever did was done halfheartedly. Strong willed, adventurous, crusty, generous and immensely talented, she pursued her life-long artistic career with a single-minded passion and energy that is reflected in the work she left behind.” These personality traits may be behind the rumored rift that ultimately developed between her and the equally strong-minded Fr. Hilary Martin, who invited her to the campus. Born and raised in the San Francisco area, Fortune rose to national and international prominence primarily through her painting in the early twentieth century, and her vibrant impressionism remains as appealing today as in the 1910’s. Born in 1885 in Sausalito, she developed as a painter in the San Francisco art community. In the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, however, her family suffered great material loss, including much of her work. She relocated with them to New York, and travelled to Europe, including to her father’s native Scotland. Returning to California in 1912, her own artwork began to reveal more interest in the liturgical and sacred. Fortune created the Monterey Guild in 1928, named in connection with her work in the Monterey area in California. She worked to extend the guild in various locations, including here at Portsmouth, fostering artists and craftspeople who were creating original new artworks and furnishings for churches.
Fr. Hilary and Fr. Peter Sidler, who had a graduate degree in fine arts, had become aware of her work, which by then was well-known on the east coast, and knew of her interest in the development of liturgical art. They invited her to be an artist-in-residence at Portsmouth in the late 1940’s, the first to hold such a role. It was at this time that she produced the tabernacle now in the abbey church, as well as the Calvary in the monastery cemetery. She stayed in a residence that is still in use on the campus, located on the short dirt road linking the main entrance road, below the stone pillars, to Cory's Lane. The building had been retrofitted for residential living, and was specially renovated with skylights for her studio work. Sixth Form students would trudge over to her studio there for her course in arts and aesthetics, among them our Fr. Christopher Davis, '48.
Her continued devotion to liturgical art, fostering artists around the country, led eventually to recognition in Rome, as she was awarded in 1955 the “Pro Ecclesia” medal, given in a private audience with Pius XII, one of the highest awards given to lay people to recognize distinguished service to the church.
Top: Miss Fortune (as she was known at the Abbey)
in her studio on campus;
Above: Fortune's "Christ meets His Mother";
Below: Her Pro Ecclesia certificate, awarded in 1955.
Esther Puccinelli in front of her work, and the Ann Mundstock dance studio San Francisco, @1934; with
Esther Fehlen (later Puccinelli) at far left
The life of Esther Puccinelli is less well documented, though we find some intriguing traces of her journey. She too was raised in the San Francisco area, and as a young woman was involved with a modern dance troupe. Her maiden name was Fehlen, and she was of Swedish heritage, eventually learning some of her weaving skills from aunts she visited in the old country. Her Italian name derives from her husband, the Italian-American sculptor Raimundo Puccinelli. Francesco Jappolo writes of the couple: “He was handsome, even though he was often distressed by bad health. …Women were crazy about him, but he loved his wife Esther, with whom he fell madly in love when he saw her dance. …Esther, who had studied dance with a pupil of Rudolph Van Laban, also worked in the studio of the famous weaver and cloth designer Dorothy Liebes; first in San Francisco and then in New York. Amongst others, she collaborated with people like Frank Lloyd Wright…” (Wall Street International Magazine, June 2014). One finds Esther Fehlen pictured with the dance studio of Ann Mundstock in San Francisco in mid-1930’s, and discovers there hints of a world teeming with artistic creativity and freedom. Her marriage to Raimundo Puccinelli would have no doubt increased her involvement in the world of visual art, though the trajectory of her career is not as visible. Her work with Dorothy Liebes, a nationally recognized weaver once featured in Life magazine, seems most related to the artistry behind her tapestry in the church. She is also listed as offering together with Liebes a summer program at the Indian School in Brigham City, Utah in 1952, and one wonders about interest in or influence by Navajo weaving as well. Puccinelli’s work, exhibited in various galleries around the country, became well enough known for the monastic community to seek her out to create the piece for the altar of the Blessed Sacrament. In his article, “Art and Architecture at Portsmouth Abbey,” John Walker, former director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C, describes it as “one of the most beautiful abstract designs I have ever seen.”
We provide below further examples of the work of these two extraordinary artists., with a focus on the tabernacle and the tapestry created for the Blessed Sacrament.
Paintings by E. Charlton Fortune
Calvary by E. Charlton Fortune, located in monastery cemetery, Portsmouth Abbey
Tapestry by Esther Puccinelli for the Blessed Sacrment altar, Oratory of St. Gregory the Great at Portsmouth Abbey,
below are closer views of the weaving.