Here is a recently completed painting of the Nativity that now hangs in Oakcrest School the Opus Dei girls’ school in Vienna, Virginia. It is painted by Henry Wingate who is also based in Virginia. It is large, over 9 feet long and nearly 8 feet wide.
Henry told me:
Those who commissioned the painting wanted it to be seen as Oakcrest's Nativity, in that it would have signature aspects to it, such as the school uniform plaid that the girls wear. This I put in a not too obvious spot, in a basket behind the donkey. Two other signature pieces are a cardinal and the flowers of a Dogwood tree. These are both Virginia state items, the state bird and the state flower. Also, in regard to the way I painted it, I especially wanted to show the tender and close relationship between mother and child and also with St. Joseph. I used an actual cave near my studio as the background.
