Near-drowning inspires Oblate's contemporary religious artwork

Published: 2004-07-30

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A near-drowning experience in Bethany Beach, Del., led to a lively work of contemporary religious art, a painting called "Assumption Over Bethany." The artist, Oblate Brother Michael O'Neill McGrath, wrote of that summer experience, "I imagined Mary hovering above our heads." Brother Mickey's work is on exhibit through the end of September at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington. It is part of a show called "Mystical Rose, Star of the Sea: Images of the Virgin Mary from the Litany of Loreto." "Assumption Over Bethany" depicts a blue sky, white clouds, colorful beach umbrellas, two arms bobbing in a green sea, a little inconspicuous lifeguard sprinting with a lifeline, a red sea serpent in the background and a golden Mary with arms outstretched over the whole scene and surrounded by four angels.

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