Oxford Oratory Paintings Restoration Appeal

 

The Oxford Oratory has launched an appeal to raise funds for the revealing and restoration of a set of mural paintings in the spandrils of the arches flanking the Sanctuary. The paintings were created in an Arts and Crafts style by the Midlands based Catholic artist Gabriel Pippet (1880-1962) in the years 1905-7 and show the life of St Aloysius Gonzaga, the patron of the church. Wikipedia has a short note about Pippet and some of his other commissions at Gabriel Pippet

The murals in St Aloysius were to be casualties of changing fashions in church decoration in the 1950s and disappeared along with much other such painted decoration behind a uniform layer of grey paint. A few years ago they were temporarily revealed during redecoration work which showed they were still in situ.

The Oratory has now produced a video, presented by Fr Benedict, about the paintings and with details of how to contribute to the appeal. It can be accessed at St Aloysius Revealed: Restoring the lost murals of Gabriel Pippet