Considered by many to be one of Canada’s most original artists, FATHER DUNSTAN MASSEY, OSBdied on December 26, 2022 at Westminster Abbey in Mission, outside of Vancouver. Born and raised in Vancouver, his love of art began as a child, and continued into high school where his talent was recognized by teachers.
In 1940, at 16, he became the youngest artist to host a solo exhibit at the VancouverArtGallery, and was feted by great Canadian artists and art patrons.
At age 18 he decided against all protestations (we know that experience) to ‘throw my life away’ in a monastic cloister!” He chose his monastic name after St Dunstan of Canterbury, patron saint of artisans and goldsmiths.
Having visited Westminster Abbey several times, I find it perhaps the most beautiful AbbeyChurchin North America (dedicated in 1982 by Cardinal Basil Hume, OSB) , mainly due to the stained glass windows and the art work of Father Dunstan. His huge crucifix, cast in bronze and plated with silver took seven years to complete. It has hung above the Westminster Abbey altar since 2014.Father Dunstan once said “it’s a unique privilege for a single artist to craft all the artwork in one church. Since 1982, he created 22 concrete bas-reliefs for the Abbey, including 20 for the church.
Working four hours a day in a barn, he said: the work is a prayer. That’s what the Rule talks about: prayer and work. The two go together.”
His art, he once said, is meant to convey hope. “I think our modern society needs hope more than anything, because there is so much alienation, which leads to despair.
The cloistered monk was painting to the end, until he moved into the abbey’s infirmary a short time before his death, at the age of 98.
I find some of his work to be a cross between Salvador Dali and the monks of Beuron (Germany), yet he brought his own unique monastic style. Below are two of his St. Scholasticas (the twin sister of St.Benedict)- one in paint, the other in plaster.
While he lived in relative obscurity, his memory lives in his art, which adorns the Abbey’s Church and monastery for many generations to come.
(Photos of crucifix- Agnieszka Krawczynski - The B.C. Catholic)
