John J. Hughes - The King?

I serve as an ambassador for the Fordham Theatre Department where I endorse the program to prospective students. At the first round of auditions this year, I found this painting of Archbishop John J. Hughes (1797-1864) in the President’s Suite on the twelfth floor of Lowenstein at Fordham.

The president’s suite is a grand room designed to hold special meetings and presentations as well as celebrate esteemed guests to Fordham. It also boasts an impressive view overlooking Lincoln Center and the uptown skyline. I was immediately grabbed by the fact that this painting of John J. Hughes is situated in this particular room on the twelfth floor. This painting was undoubtedly chosen to watch over the president’s suite so Hughes’s legacy as Fordham’s founder and influential New Yorker can serve as inspiration and guidance for those having meetings in this room.

            This painting by Mark Hess is no less grand than the room it is situated in. It is large in size, covering vertically more than half of the wall it is hung on. Additionally it is held by an embellished gold frame. There is a touch of elitism that comes with the set-up of this room and painting. John J. Hughes is seemingly mounted like a king overlooking all who enter and participate in the space.

I would imagine that the sentiment striven for with this space is to show how John J. Hughes was extremely diligent in his pursuit of supporting the voices of Catholic and Irish people, and how everyone can take away from his dedication and leadership. In Religion and the Beautiful, Henry Ward Beecher emphasizes that “our God delights in beauty… Yet the things that perish, are of the least use – material things – are themselves bound with silver cord and are made to be beautiful” (Beecher 211). This prompted me to question: is the sentiment being striven for with this painting in agreement with the layout of the space? This quote by Beecher reinforced the idea I have on how this painting of John J. Hughes could potentially be sending the wrong message because of the frills surrounding it -.the grandiose room, the gold frame, the skyline. Beecher insists that “men must learn how to dwell in the midst of the rarest object of beauty, enjoy them, wield them as powers, experience the effects of them in themselves and yet maintain thoroughly every Christian state of mind” (Beecher 212). A Christian state of mind was not kept in mind when putting this portrait in this space. Instead, a lavish business room was created that treats John J. Hughes as a king instead of a Christian and spiritual leader.

This misplacement opens a wider conversation about transformation and manipulation of artifacts. If the same painting of John J. Hughes was in a different room, one that is plain with no frills, a completely different sentiment would be put forth. I am by no means saying that treating John J. Hughes as a king was a deliberate choice for the President’s Suite. Instead, I am suggesting that care and thoughtfulness needs to be put into the presentation of artifacts such as this so that confusion about sentiment and message can be avoided.