Take a look at the credit lines in this exhibition, and you will see names that have been forever added to the permanent roster of our history. Without the crucial support of these most recent donors, Museum simply could not move forward, and we warmly thank all of our dedicated philanthropists for building a future worth remembering.
Santa Barbara Mission – A Ceremony of the Old Days in the Past
Clarkson Dye (American, 1869-1955)
Oil on canvas board
Museum Acquisition Fund
Through the generosity of Astrid and Lawrence Hammett
“Many years ago, while I was sketching the interior garden of this Mission, some of the priests watched me while I painted. One of them was a bent old man. He was in a reminiscent mood, and described a ceremony in the 1860’s when he was visiting the Mission with some of the fraters from Capistrano.
It was night. He told us of the impressive scene as the procession marched, with an Archbishop under the canopy, which was supported by the Mission priests. All carried candles, while some of the acolytes had torches. He could not remember the occasion for this ceremony under the stars, watched in reverent interest by many of the people in the parish. I have tried to reproduce this picture as it was described to me by the old priest.” – Clarkson Dye