A uniquely Alaskan altar painting in a Seward church turns 100
The story behind the painting is as captivating as the artwork itself
SEWARD, Alaska (KTUU) - In 1925, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Seward decided it need some artwork to go behind the altar.
As luck would have it, there was a Dutch artist living in town. Jan Van Empel had come to Seward to paint the mountains. It’s believed he was inspired by the work of another artist, Rockwell Kent, who had made a splash in the art world with his Seward-inspired work.
The church approached Van Empel but he wasn’t interested. He didn’t do religious paintings. Then he had a change of heart and quickly showed up with his idea for the painting.
The church approved and set out to raise the money for the artist’s fee. It was $650 — about $85,000 in today’s money.
Van Empel completed the painting in three months. Eight feet tall and eight feet across — it is a unique piece of artwork. As a religious painting, it depicts both the resurrection and the ascension of Jesus Christ.
Below the rising Jesus are two groups of people, locals from the area: Indigenous people make up one group and settlers of the area make up the second group.
Van Empel painted himself into the settler group. He can be seen on the very left with his hands raised in the air. There is an angel on each side of Jesus. Van Empel used his sisters as the models for these, and the painting’s background is of Resurrection Bay and Fox Island in the distance.
Van Empel spent about a year in Seward before he moved on to find new inspiration. He painted in Canada, Texas and Mexico. Seven years after he left Seward, he died in a car accident at the age of 51, just as he was becoming a recognized artist.
The art displayed behind the altar in a church is called a reredos. The one at St. Peter’s in Seward is now 100 years old. it is not just a time capsule of the people and area of 1925, but it is also a reminder of the year a Dutch artist came to town.
The painting can be viewed during the Church’s open house events, Labor Day, Independence Day, and Memorial Day, or during regular church services: Fridays at 5:30 p.m. and Sundays at 9 a.m.
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