Johann Berthelsen (1883 – 1972) Little Church Around the Corner Oil on panel 16 x 12 inches Framed dimensions: 22 x 18 inches Signed
Johann Berthelsen’s Little Church Around the Corner is another one of the Danish-American painter’s popular New York cityscapes. The title is a reference to the popular nickname given to the Church of the Transfiguration in Manhattan. Located right off Fifth Avenue on East 29th Street, the episcopal church was originally consecrated in 1849 and built in a style meant to mimic an English country chapel, complete with a garden and covered gateway. The church became known as a place of refuge for many groups. It had been a stop on the Underground Railroad and helped hide free Black New Yorkers from the violence of the 1863 anti-draft riots. It maintains a culture of inclusion today, becoming the site of the first same-sex wedding in the Episcopal Diocese of New York in 2012. However, it is probably best known for its connections to the New York theatrical community.
While the social status of actors had greatly improved by the nineteenth century, many still considered them social outcasts, seen as professional liars, and sometimes grouped with prostitutes. The Church of the Transfiguration, therefore, was one of the few Manhattan churches to provide rites and services to actors, becoming a haven for many working in local theaters, including Sarah Bernhardt and Edwin Booth. Since 1923, the church has also served as the national headquarters of the Episcopal Actors’ Guild. In this regard, the church welcomed notable visitors such as Rex Harrison, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Charlton Heston, and Basil Rathbone. Fred Astaire would receive his confirmation at the church, while Father Randolph Ray, the church’s rector, was a cousin of Tallulah Bankhead.
Much of this history remains hidden in Johann Berthelsen’s cityscape, showing the Little Church Around the Corner. He gives us the church on a snowy day in Manhattan. The Empire State Building, about four blocks away, rises into the grey sky. The artist has applied the paint very delicately, exposing the texture of the canvas and leaving little specks of white across the work, seeming like snowflakes whipped by the wind into the faces of passersby. Surrounded by office buildings and skyscrapers, the church seems almost quaint by comparison. It’s a little sectioned-off space open to those who need help, offering warmth within as winter winds blow down 29th Street.