Banner Unveiled on Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve 2004 at Grace Cathedral a historical event took place during the opening procession. For the first time ever, a banner celebrating the Nativity was carried by a woman as the celebrants parade through the cathedral. The banner, designed by David Boysel, presented a very ancient iconic image of Mary with the Christ child in a uniquely modern way.

"The image can be traced […] to an early fourth-century wall painting in the catacombs in Rome," says Mr. Boysel. His adaptation of this image is painted on artist’s canvas in acrylic paint, stitched onto hand-dyed Italian fabric, with a lead emulsion on the background, to which silver leaf has been applied.

He describes the synthesis of materials as a contemporary reinterpretation of the icon. "There’s no material in the banner that wasn’t invented in the last 100 years. It’s the most ambitious, most complicated banner I’ve created for the cathedral. The original image was from a Yugoslavian processional icon with the Presentation on the front, and the Crucifixion on the back. This piece is an adaptation of that idea in the way that we use that kind of icon. It’s a modern treatment of something old."

In another break from convention, the banner was designed with the intention of being lightweight and easy to carry. Most of the banners in Grace Cathedral’s collection are large, heavy quilted pieces that are then fastened to long poles. Because they are so cumbersome, women have been infrequent banner carriers in the procession. Mr. Boysel intended his icon of mother and child to be easily borne, "I’m very pleased that this banner, what it says and what it symbolizes, will be first carried on Christmas Eve by a woman."

The front of the banner depicts the Christ Child on Mary’s lap amid Greek text. The text, which appears in English on the back of the banner, reads, "Mother of God, the one who shows us the way to Jesus Christ, the Being."

The canvas glitters with thousands of glass beads that were stitched by The Rev. Nina Pickerrell, who is thrilled with the finished banner. "I wanted to give something to the cathedral that would be here long after I’ve gone, and when David offered me the opportunity to work on the banner, I said I’d be very interested."

David Boysel, who works as a restorer of historical buildings and is an acolyte at the cathedral, has created and refurbished numerous artworks for Grace Cathedral. His first banner was a gift from Grace Cathedral to St. George’s Capetown (South Africa) on their centennial. He was then asked to restore four statues of New Testament women from the Chapel of the Nativity after two were stolen, and the remaining pair was damaged in a later attempted theft.

These statues, originally created in 1946 by Mrs. Theodore Stebbins and dedicated to the memory of her brother James Flood, were completed and rededicated by The Rev. Frances Tornquist prior to Holy Week in 2003. Mr. Boysel has fond memories of the rededication service. "[The Rev. Tornquist] dedicated them in memory of her mother, who had recently died. And it was on Congregation Clean-up Day, so everyone who witnessed the service had been scrubbing the floors all day. It felt like my work was in service to the cathedral, and also a direct gift to the people of the cathedral, and that was wonderful."