Convent Kitchen

Women religious
Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill
Sister Mary Francis Irvin, SC
Religious life and customs

Sister Mary Francis Irvin, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill, was a dedicated religious,
inspiring teacher, and gifted artist. While attending the Carnegie Institute of Technology during World War II, Sr. Mary Francis completed a precisionist-style painting entitled “Convent Kitchen.” The piece would go on to win second place in the 1943 Pittsburgh Associated Artists exhibition. “Convent Kitchen” not only reveals the hard work and comradery of women religious, but the painting’s style and perspective reinforce the subject’s simplicity in life and the idea of subjection of the individual identity for the good of the whole in community life. Conversely, the subject of women religious shelling peas is a juxtaposition to the more industrial precisionist paintings of the 1920s and 30s. In a continuation of the story, “Convent Kitchen” inspired a great benefactor of Sr. Mary Francis, helping to further her career as an artist.

Sister Mary Francis Irvin

Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill

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1943

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Courtesy of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. For permission for use or reproduction, please contact the Archivist at cbowser@scsh.org.

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Oil on canvas

English

Painting

SMF_Irvin_01

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