Sister Edith Pfau, S.P., (1915–2001) was an American painter, sculptor, and art educator known for her religious works and commissions. Born Alberta Henrietta Pfau in

Jasper, Indiana Jasper is a city in, and the county seat of, Dubois County, Indiana, United States, located along the Patoka River. The population was 16,703 at the 2020 census making it the 48th largest city in Indiana. On November 4, 2007, Dubois County returne ...

, she began drawing at a very early age. Later in her life she recalled, "I always was attracted to faces. I find faces everywhere, even in scribbles on the wall." Pfau entered the

Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods are an apostolic congregation of Catholic women founded by Saint Theodora Guerin (known colloquially as Saint Mother Theodore) at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, in 1840. Mother Theodo ...

in 1933 at the age of 18, taking the religious name Sister Edith. Her main ministry as a Sister was teaching art and English in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. Pfau's education ministry included eleven years teaching at

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) is a private Roman Catholic liberal arts college in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Originally a college exclusively for women, it is now coeducational. It is the oldest Catholic college in Indiana a ...

, eleven years at Immaculata Junior College in Washington, D.C., and ten years at

Providence University Providence University (PU; ) is a Catholic co-educational institution in Shalu District, Taichung City, Taiwan. Providence University is one of the U12 Consortium member schools, and is one of two Taiwan universities participating in the ISEP ne ...

in Shalu,

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Taiw ...

, Taiwan.

Education

Pfau earned a bachelor's degree in English and art from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in 1941. Beginning in 1944 she attended summer sessions at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

with the intent of pursuing a master's degree, but was unable to complete the program due to her teaching responsibilities. In 1951 she earned her Master's from

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

, and a doctorate in education followed from

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State, State or BSU) is a public university, public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers, Indiana, Fishers and Indianapolis. On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, indust ...

in 1971. As an academic, she focused on the subject of art in secondary Catholic education. Pfau also completed numerous summer sessions from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

and

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...

Works and honors

Pfau worked in a variety of media including oil,

tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done ...

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...

, wood and metal sculpture,

silkscreen Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mesh ...

, and

acrylic Acrylic may refer to: Chemicals and materials * Acrylic acid, the simplest acrylic compound * Acrylate polymer, a group of polymers (plastics) noted for transparency and elasticity * Acrylic resin, a group of related thermoplastic or thermosett ...

. Well-known works include "Risen Christ" (oil, 1964), "Stations of the Cross" (egg-oil tempera, 1951), "Madonna and Child" (sculpmetal and polymer, 1953), and "St. Joseph and Child" (walnut sculpture, 1959). She became known for colorful religious paintings, often utilizing intersections of straight and curved lines and overlapping shapes. Her oil painting "Mater Salvatoris" (c. 1958) is an example of this technique. Numerous churches commissioned works from her including a set of stations of the cross for Our Lady Providence church in

Brownstown, Indiana Brownstown is a town within Brownstown Township and the county seat of Jackson County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,947 at the 2010 census. It was named for Jacob Brown, a general of the War of 1812. History The town of Brown ...

, another set for St. Francis Savier Church (

Wilmette, Illinois Wilmette is a village in New Trier Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan and Evanston, Illinois, it is located north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a population of 27,087 at the 2010 census. The ...

), and "Christ the Pantokrator" for St. Cecilia Church in

Tustin, California Tustin is a city located in Orange County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. In 2020, Tustin had a population of 80,276. The city is located next to the county seat, Santa Ana, and does not include the unincorporated community ...

. Several of her screen print card designs were printed and produced by Community Art Chicago in the 1950s. Pfau's work was exhibited at the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

in 1947 in an Exhibit of Sisters' Manuscripts. Throughout her career, Pfau won numerous awards for her work including first prize in oils from the Indiana College Art Exhibit (1935), first prize in painting at the Wabash Valley Art Exhibition held at

Swope Art Museum The Sheldon Swope Art Museum in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States, was originally funded by a bequest from Michael Sheldon Swope (1843–1929), a Civil War veteran and jeweler who lived in Terre Haute much of his adult life. Planning for the ar ...

(1946), several awards from the national Art for Religion exhibits (1959 and 1969). She earned a solo show of polymer painting and

serigraph Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mesh ...

s during her doctorate studies at Ball State University in 1969.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pfau, Edith 1915 births 2001 deaths Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College alumni Indiana State University alumni Ball State University alumni 20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns Catholic painters American women painters Catholic University of America alumni People from Jasper, Indiana American women sculptors 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women artists Catholics from Indiana Nuns and art Catholic sculptors Female Catholic artists