Modern Art in Catholic Britain

The term ‘modern art’ refers to the groundbreaking and unconventional kinds of art produced from the late 19th century up until the late 1960s. As an artistic revolution, it unfolded in a series of movements, including impressionism, surrealism, abstract expressionism and conceptual art.

Modern art was characterised by experimentation, as well as valuing individual expression over sticking with tradition. Modern artists departed from tradition by producing art that was both weird and wonderful, abstract and symbolic, as well as colourful and controversial. They used light and colour in new ways, and worked with new materials such as acrylic paints, metal and plastic.

In parallel, during the first half of the 20th century, modernist architecture arrived on the scene. This was characterised by an emphasis on function before form, minimalism, as well as the use of new materials and construction techniques. In a move away from the Gothic Revival and Byzantine Revival approaches to architecture, many new churches from this era were built according to these modernist principles.

Within the Catholic context, architectural firms such as Gillespie, Kidd & Coia, Weightman & Bullen and Burles & Newton, as well as designers such as F.X. Velarde (1897-1960), Sir Frederick Gibberd (1908-1984) and Gerard Goalen (1918-1999) broke new ground in church design. They focused on simplicity and functionality, using new materials such as concrete and glass to create clean, stark interiors.

Modern churches for modern times

Within Catholic Britain, probably the greatest symbol of the Church’s commitment to modernity was the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the King in Liverpool. Designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd, it was begun in 1962 and completed in 1967. This circular structure in concrete and glass, topped with a crown of thorns, represented a decisive break with the past.

At the consecration Mass, Cardinal John Heenan (1905-1975) described it as ‘a Cathedral in our time’ and one that spoke in a ‘new, modern language’. Naturally, the art within the new cathedral had to speak the same language. The lantern tower was created using colourful, abstract windows. The Crucifix and Stations of the Cross were also striking and modern. In addition, the side chapels became home to various modern sculptures, mosaics and textiles.

The same went for other modernist churches that had sprung up across the country. Appropriate sculptures, paintings, mosaics, metalwork and stained glass had to be created for these new structures. From the ceramic reliefs of St Mary’s (Leyland) to the terracotta Stations of the Cross at St Charles Borromeo (North Kelvinside), modern art featured on both the interiors and exteriors of these new sanctuaries.

As well as the construction of modernist churches, various other developments also contributed to the evolution of modern art within Catholic settings. This included the establishment of The Guild of Catholic Artists in England, a new association with the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland and the invention of dalle de verre in France.

Raising Standards: the Guild of Catholic Artists and Craftsmen

As modernist church construction gathered pace within the Catholic Church, so too did the development of modern art. One of the factors that contributed to this was the establishment in 1929 of The Guild of Catholic Artists and Craftsmen. Based in London, the Guild (later renamed the Society of Catholic Artists) helped to both exhibit and promote modern art within Catholic circles.

The Guild aimed to raise standards in Catholic art. Certain Guild members had expressed concerns that Church art had become mass-produced, sentimental and unoriginal. By contrast, Guild artists emphasised the need to think afresh about how the Christian message could be depicted authentically in the modern era. Members included:

• Philip Lindsey Clark (1889-1977), who was a sculptor and founder member of the Guild. After fighting in the First World War, he created various war memorials, including the Belgian monument in Kensal Green cemetery (which features the pietà included below). He carved Stations of the Cross for Shrewsbury Cathedral, Sacred Heart (Sheffield) and Holy Apostles (Pimlico). Clark also made sculptures for the Shrine of St Jude (Faversham) and English Martyrs (Wallasey).
• Graham Sutherland (1903-1980) was an eminent painter and art teacher. Following various commissions for Anglican churches, he painted a striking image of Christ’s Crucifixion for the new Catholic church of St Aidan’s, East Acton.
• Adam Kossowski (1905-1986) was a Polish artist who specialised in ceramics. A friend of Lindsey Clark, he joined the Guild and was associated with Aylesford Priory. Examples of his ceramic reliefs can be found at St Joseph’s (Leyland), St Francis (Cardiff), Downside Abbey (Somerset) as well as at Aylesford Priory itself.
• Peter Watts (1916–2002) was an apprentice of Lindsey Clark. He sculpted statues and Stations of the Cross for churches such as St Joseph (Harrow), St Bernadette (Lancaster) and Holy Name and St Edmund’s (Shaftesbury).
• David John (1928-2023) was a sculptor in stone and wood. His work within the Catholic context involved creating sculptures for many churches, including St Luke’s (Pinner – featured above), the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King (Liverpool) and St Theresa of the Child Jesus (Leeds).

God and Glasgow: Art & Architecture

In Scotland, a central figure in the spread of modern art and architecture within the Catholic Church was Jack Coia (1898-1981). Coia was an Italian-Glaswegian architect who in 1928 became chief of the Gillespie, Kidd & Coia firm. A practising Catholic, he forged relationships with senior clergy in Glasgow.

In the 1930s, Archbishop Donald Mackintosh (1877-1943) commissioned Coia as a church architect. His firm went on to design and build many modernist churches across the Archdiocese, including St Peter-in-Chains (Ardrossan, 1937), St Paul’s (Shettleston, 1959 – see above) and St Bride’s (East Kilbride, 1964). 

Coia was also a lecturer at the Glasgow School of Art and as such, involved various colleagues who were artists. This included Hugh Adam Crawford, Archibald Dawson, Benno Schotz, Sadie McLellan and Jack Mortimer. Coia and his team enlisted them all in designing modern art for the firm’s churches, including Stations of the Cross, murals, stained glass and sculptures.

After the Second World War, Isi Metzstein and Andy MacMillan joined the firm. Inspired by the work of the Swiss architect Le Corbusier, they took modernist innovation in church design to the next level. Like Coia, they also taught at the Glasgow School of Art and had associations with the artists there.

Sacred Slabs: the rise of Dalle de Verre 

Dalle de verre (French for ‘slab of glass’) refers to a type of stained glass made using thick tiles of glass set into a concrete or metal frame. The technique emerged in France in the 1930s and became associated with modern art and modernist architecture. Examples of artists who worked with this colourful new type of glass included:

• Pierre Fourmaintraux (1896-1974), a French pioneer in dalle de verre, who relocated from France to London and worked at the Whitefriars studio. Fourmaintraux made windows for churches such as St James the Great (Petts Wood), St Aidan’s (East Acton) and St Raphael’s (Stalybridge; now closed). 
• Gabriel Loire (1904-1996) was a French artist and a student of Fourmaintraux. He ran his own studio in Chartres and produced dalle de verre windows for British churches such as St John’s (Stevenston), St Paul’s (Glasgow), Holy Name (Oakley) and St Richard of Chichester (Chichester).
• Dom Charles Norris (1909-2004), a Benedictine monk who was also trained in dalle de verre by Fourmaintraux and who produced stained glass from the workshop of Buckfast Abbey. As well as for the Abbey itself (as pictured above), Norris created windows in this style for churches such as Our Lady of Fatima (Harlow), Our Lady’s (Lillington) and Marychurch (Hatfield).
• Patrick Reyntiens (1925-2021) was a stained glass artist who was educated at Ampleforth Abbey, whose church he would later make windows for. Other examples of his glass can be found within the Cathedral of Christ the King (Liverpool), St George (Taunton) and The Good Shepherd (Nottingham).

Modernity and the Messiah

Works of modern art, particularly from the 1950s and 1960s, can be found in Catholic churches and sacred spaces across the country. Here are some examples:

• Christ is condemned to death (Archibald Dawson: St Anne’s, Dennistoun, Glasgow, 1930s)
• The Nativity (Charles Mahoney: Campion Hall, Oxford, 1942-1952)
• Christ is crucified (Philip Lindsey Clark: Holy Apostles, Pimlico, c.1950s)
• Christ unites the Virgin and St John (Jack Mortimer: St Paul’s, Shettleston, 1959)
• The Centurion’s faith in Christ (Jean Cocteau: Notre Dame de France, London, 1959)
• The Jesse Tree (Dom Charles Norris: Our Lady of Fatima, Harlow, 1961)
• Christ washes the disciples’ feet (Fyffe Christie: St Peter and St Paul, Lichfield, 1962)
• Christ dies upon the cross (Graham Sutherland: St Aidan’s, East Acton, 1963)
• The Scourging at the Pillar (Joseph Ledger and Phylis Butler: Our Lady of the Rosary, London, 1966)
• The Call of Elisha (Adam Kossowski: Aylesford Priory, Aylesford, 1966-1967)

The lead sculpture of the Madonna and Child pictured at the start of this article was produced by Sir Jacob Epstein in 1952. It’s found at Dean’s Mews, London (previously the Convent of the Holy Child of Jesus).

For further reading:

• Holzwarth, Hans Werner, ed. Modern Art: A History from Impressionism to Today. Cologne: Taschen, 2021.
• Kellett, B., director. A Cathedral in Our Time. BFI, 1967, 19 mins. URL: https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-cathedral-in-our-time-1967-online
• Kulic, V., Parker, T., & Penick, M., eds. Sanctioning Modernism: Architecture and the Making of Postwar Identities. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2014.
• Proctor, R. Building the Modern Church: Roman Catholic Church Architecture in Britain, 1955 To 1975. London: Routledge, 2016.
• Reyntiens, Patrick. The Technique of Stained Glass. London: Batsford; New York: Watson-Guptill, 1967.
• Robertson, J.D. Gillespie, Kidd & Coia: Ecclesiastical Architecture 1931-1979. Unpublished doctoral thesis, Manchester Metropolitan University, 2017.