Art: Holy Family in Modern Dress

English Painter Arthur Fretwell, 38, who makes a living as the art master of the church school at Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, received an interesting letter last January. It came from Nathaniel Montague. Lane, 68, the diocesan architect who designed the Anglican Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in the nearby coal-mining town of Mansfield. Architect Lane, with only limited funds, wanted to know if Fretwell would like to paint five pictures of incidents from the Virgin Mary's life for the church's gallery. There was only one condition: "The more controversial the panels are, the...

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