Award winning artwork donated to St Mary’s Cathedral
Artist Camilla Loveridge officially hands over ownership of her Mandoorla Art Award winning painting, entitled Over Jerusalem, to St Mary’s Cathedral Dean, Msgr Michael Keating. Photo: Jamie O’Brien
By Marco Ceccarelli and Odhran O’Brien
A captivating painting which took out this year’s Catholic prize at the Mandorla Art Award and described by the panel of judges as “beautifully worked”, was recently donated to Perth’s St Mary’s Cathedral.
Entitled Over Jerusalem, the artwork was donated by artist Camilla Loveridge and is part of a continuing program to develop a religious art collection at St Mary's Cathedral.
The program has been part of a long-term vision of those involved in the restoration of the Cathedral from 2006 to 2009 and is endorsed by Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB and Dean of the Cathedral, Monsignor Michael Keating.
Ms Loveridge trained in Visual Arts at Curtin University in Perth – a subject she then taught at high school level. Her career in teaching led to her volunteering as a teacher at a high school on a mission in Rabaul in Papua New Guinea and then another college in Mt Hagen.
Passionate about using art to help those with disabilities, Ms Loveridge continues to do workshops at high schools in drawing and mixed media.
Ms Loveridge’s story is an interesting one as her father, Mr Thomas Gerard Darwin, is also associated with the Cathedral and members of her family are involved with the Church.
In 2008, Mr Darwin designed and created the Stations of the Cross in St Mary’s Cathedral and sculpted a bust of Pope Saint John Paul II, which is currently on display in the crypt. He has also sculpted other saints, including St Mother Teresa which is also on display at St Mary's Cathedral.
The religious art legacy within Ms Loveridge’s family does not stop there but continues for another generation. Her daughter, Ruth, who graduated from Santa Maria College in 2015, recently won the Black Swan portraiture prize and Angelico art award of WA.
Featuring her grandfather Mr Darwin, six of Ruth's works were displayed at the Art Gallery in the Perspectives exhibition. The works have since been purchased by Santa Maria. Ruth is currently completing her first year of Visual Arts at Curtin University.
Finally, Ms Loverdige’s aunt is Sister Camille Darwin, a Sr of St Joseph of the Apparition, and who was Mother Provincial for a number of years. She also established St Joseph’s Hospital in Bicton.