Patron Saint of Artists

St. Luke, author of the Bible's third Gospel and Acts of the Apostles, is honored today in the Christian calendar.

Legend has it that St. Luke painted portraits of Mary, though historians claim the tale has no basis in fact. Nevertheless, St. Luke is still commonly regarded as the patron saint of artists.

Edward Mitchell Bannister painted today's portrait of St. Luke, whose writings include miracles and parables not found in other gospels. Luke's perspective seems to emphasize the poor and social justice. Perhaps on this basis St. Luke appealed to the African American painter.

Edward Mitchell Bannister's determination to become a successful artist was largely fueled by an inflammatory article he read in the New York Herald in 1867, that stated "the Negro seems to have an appreciation for art while being manifestly unable to produce it." Ironically, less than a decade later, in 1876, Bannister was the first African American artist to receive a national award.

Source: Regenia A. Perry. Free within Ourselves: African-American Artists in the Collection of the National Museum of American Art (Washington, D.C.: National Museum of American Art in Association with Pomegranate Art Books, 1992).

Pictured: Edward Mitchell Bannister, 1828 Canada–1901 USA, St. Luke, n.d., oil, 24 1/4 x 18 1/8 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Alan M. Gilstein and William J. Piccerelli.