Mary Thomasita Fessler (February 23, 1912 – April 1, 2005) was an American painter and

religious sister A religious sister (abbreviated ''Sr.'' or Sist.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to pr ...

. Her work consisted of paintings, sculptures, and designs for stained-glass windows.Patricia Lefevere
"Nun teaches that 'we are all born artists' – Franciscan Sr. Thomasita Fessler – Interview"
''National Catholic Reporter'', October 22, 1999.

History

Fessler was born Majella Nicola Fessler in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, the granddaughter of the architect Erhard Brielmaier. She joined the Sisters of St. Francis when she was 17 years old and went on to graduate from

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...

and the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and ...

. Fessler founded the Art Department at

Cardinal Stritch College , mottoeng = To value the better things , established = 1937 ( years ago) , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi (Roman Catholic) , endowment ...

, becoming the chair of the Art Department and founding the Studio San Damiano art gallery and studio for artists and education, which were based on her philosophy of, "Nature is God's art and art is man's nature", as well as the Brielmaier tradition of, "A child who learns to create will not destroy." Fessler created over 600 paintings, most of which are now held in private collections, some within art galleries or museums such as the Haggerty Museum at

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

. Two of her large sculptures made of precious woods are featured on the second and fourth floor walls of the Marquette University library. Her hand-carved 16-foot crucifix, altar sculptures, or stone carvings are found in churches throughout the United States. Her Studio San Damiano, where she worked for decades with artist Irene Kilmurry, closed on April 14, 2004. American Catholic composer,

Dan Schutte Daniel Laurent Schutte is an American composer of Catholic liturgical music and a contemporary Christian songwriter best known for composing the hymn " Here I Am, Lord" (1981, also known as " I, the Lord of Sea and Sky") and over 165 published h ...

was a student and participated in the

1964 New York World's Fair The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair was a world's fair that held over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations (hosted by 37), 24 US states, and over 45 corporations with the goal and the final result of building exhibits or ...

where Fessler arranged an exhibition with her students at the Vatican Pavilion. Some of Schutte's best known music collections feature Fessler paintings as cover art.

Awards

Fessler's

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

vows of poverty and humility prevented her from having a publicist or agent, yet she still was listed in ''Who's Who of American Artists'', ''Who's Who of Women'', and named as one of the 100 Most Distinguished Women of Wisconsin. She was the first woman inducted into the Wisconsin Architects' Association. She received an Honorary

Doctor of Fine Arts Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.) is a doctoral degree in fine arts, may be given as an honorary degree (a degree ''honoris causa'') or an earned professional degree (in the UK). Description Doctoral programmes leading to DFAs are of equivalent level ...

degree from

in 1976

Notes

External links

Sister Thomasita Fessler
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fessler, Thomasita 20th-century American painters 21st-century American painters Modern artists 20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns Third Order Regular Franciscans University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Artists from Milwaukee 1912 births 2005 deaths Painters from Wisconsin American women painters 21st-century American women artists Female Catholic artists Catholic sculptors Catholic decorative artists Catholic stained glass artists