Art and artists at St. Philip's

From its beginnings, St Philip's New Hope has been a repository for art and crafts, a true reflection of the town of New Hope, a community well known for its arts and artists.

In the chapel building are not only finished products of art, but also examples of the steps necessary to create them. During this time, there were always knowledgeable parishioners who foresaw the needs of art in the Chapel and many artists and craftsmen produced what one sees today in St Philip's.

Valentine d'Ogries came to the United States from Austria. He studied under George Sotter at Carnegie Tech's School of Fine Arts. In 1925 Mr. d'Ogries set up his own stained glass studio in Carversville. He remained in the New Hope area for the rest of his life. His stained glass windows are in many Catholic and Episcopal churches, including the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Trenton. In 1928 he presented to the Chapel the color drawings that he had made for stained glass windows. He also created the two stained glass panels—one on either side of the front door—which were presented to the Chapel in 1955.

Charles Harley was a sculptor who lived near Phillips Mill in the early part of the Twentieth Century. He made and presented to the Chapel in 1929 the Bas Relief of St John and the Child Jesus, which hangs above the Hymn Board. He also made the "St Peter" doorknocker of bronze as a gift to St Philip's in 1948.

Rolf W. Bauhan was a graduate of Princeton University, trained in architecture. Following World War I he directed the restoration of many of Europe's damaged cathedrals. Bauhan was instrumental in establishing the School of Architecture at Princeton. He was married to the daughter of William L. Lathrop.

Herbert Boyd was on the faculty of Solebury School, where taught classes in woodworking. Ben Badura was a painter who also studied frame-making and worked in stained glass. He lived in New Hope, where he painted and made outstanding picture frames in his shop on North Main Street.

These artists collaborated on a number of works in the Chapel. Mr. Bauhan designed and made the pedestal for the marble Baptismal Font. Herbert Boyd constructed the wood cover of the font. Together they were presented to the Chapel in 1944. In 1946 Mr. Bauhan designed a wooden altar cross which was crafted by Mr. Boyd and gold-leafed by Mr. Badura.

Mr. Bauhan also designed the belfry of the Chapel, which was built and presented to the Chapel in 1960. In that belfry is a bell, cast at the Bachert Foundry, Bad Friedrichshall, Wurttemberg, Germany, which bears the inscription:

For All the Saints
Who From Their Labors Rest
To the Glory of God
Saint Philip's Chapel 1971

Mr. Morgan Colt was a trained architect, painter, and artist-craftsman. He worked in wood, leather, iron and copper. He came to New Hope in 1905 and established The Gothic Shop, where he created wrought iron decorations, tooled leather panels, and wood carvings. He was assisted by Isaac Wallwork, an ironworker, and Enid Grant and Bessie Heller, woodcarvers, all of whom were skilled in their crafts.

Mr. Colt designed the Altar and its furnishings. The Altar was carved in white oak according to his design by Enid Grant and presented to the chapel in 1928. Mr. Colt forged the Standard Candlesticks at his shop in New Hope in 1924. The Eucharistic Candlesticks were made by Isaac Wallwork in 1928. The triple-branched candlesticks were made by Mr. Wallwork in 1937. Mr. Colt also designed the Hymn Board carved by Bessie Heller in 1929 and the Lectern that was presented in 1930.

On the walls of Chapel are hung some interesting works of arts and crafts. Georgiana Harbeson Godwin lived in Hew Hope and Solebury for several years. Among her body of work are many altar hangings for National Cathedral in Washington, which she designed and worked. She embroidered the "Crucifixion," a dossal of crewelwork on velvet, in 1930, on invitation for exhibition at the 1937 Paris Exposition. She presented it to the Chapel in 1960.

The "Saint Oswald" panel, a copy of a stained glass window for a private chapel in Southern France, was presented to the Chapel in 1930. Moore and Elizabeth Price, who lived in a farmhouse on Chapel Road, made the frame. Moore Price was famous for his handsome frames and Elizabeth Price was a painter.

Unfortunately for some of the works that St Philip's possesses there is no provenance, neither the name of the artist nor the history of the work. Such is the statues of the relief of the Madonna and Child presented to the Chapel in 1929, the Madonna and Child painting which hangs behind the organ, and Fresco of Crucifixion, which is a sketch for a Mexican cathedral mural presented to the Chapel in 1958.

The chairs now used at St. Philip's were made by Chris Cosner, a local woodworker.