Sister Wendy Beckett , dead at 88

I would have liked to have known what Zoe thought of her. She was an icon. I loved her heart felt passion for art.

Zoe and Sister Wendy are having a fun chat right now.

I thought she was brilliant. RIP Sister Wendy. :(

RIP and may light perpetual shine upon her. Her TV programs showed her absolute love of fine art and her desire to share that with others. No one like Sister Wendy....

Other Bob, many of Sister Wendy's videos were especially good for art ignoramuses - she was very down to earth and easy to listen to and understand. Zoe was a former frequent and well loved poster on this forum who recently passed away.

You can easily find Sister Wendy's videos on youtube. I've been watching one a night since her death. They are not hoity-toity lectures aimed at art historians. If you've never been in a museum at all you'll enjoy them, as do people with an art background. Just watch one of her Story of Painting series. If you're not hooked after 10 minutes then I owe you a beer.

Zoe was active on this forum until her death about a year ago. I believe she went to Italy every summer. She was warm and intelligent and contributed much here.

Bob , as Karen and Nancy have said , Sister Wendy's narratives are not dry , analytical commentaries about art . There is a humanistic warmth that emanates from her presentations , one laced with an infectious enthusiasm . Even if one knows little about art , listening to her as she explains the messages that live in paintings , will give many people the desire to dig deeper and learn more . If you can access You tube , this section of her " Story of Painting " will provide a start , and as Karen has aptly put it , you will be hooked - https://youtu.be/0XfEgoHUKKk

Many years ago I tried to catch her on PBS whenever possible and enjoyed her programmes, simple narratives for the layman like myself. An enthusiam and love for a subject without being boring or pompous. Much like the lovely and entertaining Lucy Worsley's coverage of historical figures and events, and Monty Don and his gardens.

Sister Wendy was a treasure.
Our Zoe was a treasure too. Hard to believe it's been nearly a year since she left us. I miss her.

Thanks for this post. We loved Sister Wendy. I received her book "The Story of Painting" as a gift many years ago, and still treasure it. In fact, my DH just pulled it off the shelf last night to look up neoclassicism.

As someone posted above (another Catholic?) May perpetual light shine upon her.