Old Bethlehem Church 1879-1960

Object Details

Artist
Gertrude Jones
Date
Mid-20th century
Medium
oil on canvas board
Dimensions
Frame: 18 3/4 × 14 13/16 × 1 5/8 in. (47.7 × 37.6 × 4.1 cm)
Cite As
Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution
Caption
This painting lauds a landmark that stood for almost eighty years in Anacostia, a neighborhood in southeast Washington, DC. Artist Gertrude W. Jones depicts Bethlehem Baptist Church’s first sanctuary, built about five years after the congregation’s organization in 1872. In oil paint on canvas board, the stucco church rises in yellow tones above its gray foundation. Blue sky surrounds the symmetrical sanctuary. Above its dark brown doors are stained glass windows, including a rectangular panel bearing a cross. Lancet windows flank the similarly arched narthex on both sides. Next to the front steps is a black-and-white sign whose changeable letters spelled Sunday’s sermon title each week. The painting likely dates to the mid-1950s when the congregation broke ground for a new sanctuary that incorporated architectural elements of the original structure. Jones’s painting honors the historically African American church and its congregation, whose legacy lives on at same location on Anacostia’s main street, 2458 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, SE (formerly Nichols Avenue, SE) at its intersection with Howard Road.
Accession Number
1990.0033.0111
Type
painting
See more items in
Anacostia Community Museum Collection
Data Source
Anacostia Community Museum
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dl8fed48cca-804c-48eb-897a-df5f044b8e33
Record ID
acm_1990.0033.0111
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