feature - David Larned

P R O F I L E S

CHESTER COUNTY LIFE | 1100 | MAY/JUNE 2008

EMBRACING THE MAN

arch 1, 2008 was a his-toric and jubilant day

for Malvern PreparatorySchool, the private, ChesterCounty, Catholic, Augustin-ian school for boys, grades 6– 12. A cold winter wind wasno match for the warmth offestivities that began with amass celebrated by His Eminence Cardinal JustinRigali, the Archbishop ofPhiladelphia. Processing intoOur Mother of Good Counsel Chapel to thestrains of Schulte’s City ofGod, the Cardinal and hisconcelebrants – the Very Rev-erend Donald F. Reilly,O.S.A., Rev. James R. Flynn,O.S.A., Rev. Harry J. Erdlen,

By Tony Rotondo

Photography by Kelly O’Keefe

When artist David Larned unveiled his por-trait for the first time, he told the commit-tee members this: “A portrait tells a storyabout the past and in doing so connectsyou to it.” When folks look at his paintingof the Rev. David J. Duffy, O.S.A., theywill make the connection as they smile andnod at an icon who will smile right back.

Embracing the Man, Mission, and Arts

feature

P R O F I L E S


O.S.A., and Rev. Patrick B.McStravog, O.S.A. – weregreeted by hundreds ofMalvern’s benefactors.

They were all there to honor thememory and bask in the glow of theRev. David J. Duffy, O.S.A., a namesynonymous with the school, and aman loved and revered by students,teachers, parents, and alumni. At theconclusion of the mass as the MalvernLiturgical Music Group sang Take theWord of God With You, the congre-gation followed Cardinal Rigali to thesterling new, state-of-the-art Kimmel-

Above: At the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Duffy Arts Center (left to right): the Very Reverend Donald Reilly, O.S.A. Prior Provincial, Province ofSt. Thomas of Villanova; Jim Stewart, Malvern President; Charles P. Connolly, Jr. ’66, Past Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and Marianne Connolly ofWayne; Campaign Co-Chairs Cindy and Pat O’Hara of Malvern; the Rev. James Flynn, O.S.A., Malvern Head of School; Campaign Co-Chair VictorMaggitti, Jr., Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Berwyn resident; and Jackie White, Malvern Art Department Chair

Below: His Eminence Cardinal Justin Rigali cuts the ribbon for the new Duffy Arts Center with (left to right): Malvern student Chris Paolino; the Very Reverend Donald Reilly, O.S.A. Prior Provincial, Province of St. Thomas of Villanova; the Rev. James Flynn, O.S.A., Malvern Head of School; JimStewart, Malvern President; and Villa Maria student Stephanie Principati.

continued on next page


P R O F I L E S


rivaling theatre inside the Rev.David J. Duffy, O.S.A. Arts Center.

Father Duffy, who passed awayin 2006, had a long, storied, andsuccessful tenure at Malvern wherehe himself graduated in 1948. Hereturned as headmaster in 1973 andin 1990 was named the school’s firstpresident. In between, Father Duffywas a theology professor at Vil-lanova University and an Englishand religion teacher and later princi-pal at Monsignor Bonner HighSchool in Drexel Hill. He was alsoAugustinian Province Counselor fortwo years.

But Father Duffy was so muchmore. Just talk to any one whoknew him…for a few minutes or fora lifetime…and they’ll all tell you aFather Duffy story. Some will beabout family tragedies and howFather Duffy brought them comfort.Others will be about three genera-tions of weddings and christeningsand how Father brought them joyand laughter. Almost all of the sto-

Above, Right: Peg Boova (left), an alumniparent and past trustee, and Kathy DeLong,alumni parent and trustee, were instrumentalin commissioning the portrait of the Rev.David J. Duffy, O.S.A.

Right: Members of the Malvern Prep com-munity attending the dedication and celebra-tion of the new, state-of-the-art Rev. David J.Duffy, O.S.A. Arts Center.

Below, Right: Rev. James R. Flynn, O.S.A.,Head of School, David Larned, portraitartist, and James H. Stewart, President, atthe unveiling of the portrait of the late Rev.David J. Duffy, O.S.A.

P R O F I L E S


ries will be about golf, Father’s otherpassion, and how he often found timeto conduct school business on one ofthe holes of his favorite course.

In an online sympathy card to theMalvern community, Tom Ledetterwrote:

“Dave married my wife Julie andme twenty years ago, and the firstthing you see in our wedding album isDave’s signed $10 bill. I won that offDave playing golf before the cere-mony. It reminds me just how humanand full of fun the man was, and yet apriest…a man of God in the firstorder. I’ve still got his ten bucks if Iever need it.”

All will tell you that they always feltthey had his undivided attention, thatwhat they thought was important tohim, and that what they said was lis-tened to. It was one of the many Augus-tinian precepts Duffy took to heart:

“God loves each of us asif there were only one of us.”

- Saint Augustine

During the 32 years of his dedi-cated ministry at Malvern, Fr. Dave or“Duff,” as many affectionately calledhim, worked tirelessly to bring theschool back from the brink of finan-cial collapse. James H. Stewart, presi-dent, said, “Father Duffy’s influenceand love for the people of the MalvernPrep community is immeasurable. Theschool that exists today,” he said, “isdirectly a result of his vision and lead-ership.”

“Faith is to believe whatyou do not see; the reward ofthis faith is to see what youbelieve.”

- Saint Augustine

What Father Duffy lived to see wasa school population that tripled in size,a campus of new buildings, and a beau-tification of grounds and playing fields.With his board of trustees, top-notchteachers, and active alumni, the school

has gained a reputation of academicexcellence…even though there’s a leg-endary inside joke told by Father Duffyhimself. “Here at Malvern,” he wouldsay, no doubt to an august body, “aca-demics are Number One.” (He wouldsmile wryly and twinkle his eyes as heheld up TWO fingers.) “And athleticsare Number Two.” (Here he wouldhold up just ONE finger.)

The sports teams are excellent.They regularly bring home champi-

onships, ribbons, trophies, andplaques. But the academic record isequally impressive with 100% of itsgraduates going off to prestigious col-leges and universities around the coun-try. When parents would say theycould not afford to send their son toMalvern, Fr. Duffy would quicklyreply, “You can’t afford NOT to sendyour son here.”


P R O F I L E S

Below: Enjoying a tour of the new Duffy Arts Center are Charles P.Connolly, Jr. ’66, Past Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and Marianne Connolly of Wayne and Campaign Co-Chairs Cindy andPat O’Hara of Malvern.

Celebrating 25 YearsCSUNSET HILL FINE ARTS GALLERY

Nationally known artist

Adrian Martinez

23 North High St. | West Chester, PA610.692.0374 | www.sunsethillgallery.com

Challery.com


deeper must be its foundation. Do youwish to rise? Begin by descending. Youplan a tower that will pierce theclouds? Lay first the foundation ofhumility.”

- Saint Augustine

With over 75% of Malvern’s stu-dents involved in the arts, and all of itsinstruction being delivered in a tiredold building that used to be a dormi-tory, it became clear to Father Duffyand his board of trustees that a new

EMBRACING THE MISSION“Do you wish to be great? Then

begin by being. Do you desire to con-struct a vast and lofty fabric? Thinkfirst about the foundations of humility.The higher your structure is to be, the

Above: Cardinal Rigali shaking the hands of Campaign Co-Chair VictorMaggitti, Jr., Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Berwyn resident, andFlorence Milch of New York, N.Y.

P R O F I L E S


building was needed to remain true to,in Duffy’s words, “cultivate the whole man…intellectually, religiously,morally, and artistically.”

A foundation had to be laid, a foun-dation of planning, campaigning, andfundraising. And there was no one betterat it than Father Duffy. His disarmingsmile, his sense of humor, and plain ol’likeability made it difficult for folks tosay no to him. And so in 2004, the Cap-ital Campaign was launched with con-struction beginning in 2006. All were ofone mind: the students deserved a facilitycommensurate with their burgeoningartistic talents. And so they raised money,they expanded course offerings, and theyhired more art, music, theatre, and pho-tography teachers.

It became clear to many that nam-ing the new building after FatherDuffy would be a natural culminationof the entire campaign. Said MartyFarrell, Malvern’s executive director ofdevelopment, “The idea began withCharley Connolly ’66 P’01, past chair-man of the board of trustees. He had

several discussions with Jim Stewartand several members of the board oftrustees. They all envisioned the nam-ing of the new building as the perfectway to honor Fr. Duffy for his years ofservice to the school. Their decisionwas unanimous, and they decided torun it by Fr. Duffy, quite a humble guywhen it came to things like this. Hewas taken aback, honored, and mostunusual for him – speechless. ‘I don’tknow what to say. At this point in mylife,’ said Father, ‘the only thing I amconcerned with is getting intoheaven.’”

Over a 13-year period, Augustinewrote The City of God, his longestand most comprehensive work, whichis considered to be his most significantcontribution to Western thought andin the analysis of Christian history.Augustine developed his own tale oftwo cities: “the City of God” and “theCity of Man.” The City of God has adivine origin and a heavenly, or eternal, destiny. The City of Man has ahuman origin and an earthly destiny.

The Duffy Arts Center is part ofthat Augustinian development, merg-ing both Cities – the spiritual with thetemporal. To that end Cardinal Rigaliblessed every classroom, every studio,every practice and storage room, everynook and cranny. Then he returned tothe magnificent stage and with a the-atrical flourish helped unveil the piècede résistance – a life-size portrait of asmiling and benevolent David J. Duffy.

EMBRACING THE ARTSEmbrace the Arts flags flutter on

every lamppost that line MalvernPrep’s winding drives. They announceto all the commitment the school hasto honor its mission. Just one piece – apainting – remained to be put inplace…a lasting memorial inside theArts Center to its beloved and leg-endary priest, teacher, mentor, advisor,and friend.

Now all they needed was a por-trait painter. Even this was Scripturebased: many were called but few were



chosen. When they saw the works of ayoung man named David Larned, thecommittee was sold. Larned, a nativeof Delaware who now makes his homeon the Stock Grange Farm in Down-ingtown, is what is called in art circlesa technical painter. In an age whenmany eschew that discipline, Larnedhas developed an approach to por-traits and landscapes that he says “isabout observing the simple beauty ofthe way an object looks in light, thentranslating that three-dimensionalreality in two dimensions with paint.”

For this commission Larned reliedheavily on interviews and dozens ofDuffy photographs. The challenge wasto capture the essence of the man in allhis humanity without a model. “Whenthe artist doesn’t get to meet his sub-ject,” says Larned, “it becomes doublydifficult. In Father Duffy’s case judg-ing by the Malvern community’s fond-ness for him, the consistent gushingmade my job a lot easier. It’s not oftensomeone is so universally loved.”

With the help of Kathy DeLong,secretary of the board of trustees, andPeg Boova, past trustee, Larned armedhimself with over 200 pictures and anAugustinian habit. Larned then hired a‘body double’ to pose as a monk. “Themodel,” says Larned, “was anythingbut holy, a contrast I am sure FatherDuffy would get a kick out of.”

Larned, heavily influenced by Euro-pean and American artists from the16th through the early 20th century,paints most of his subjects with theirmouths closed, but there was not onepicture of Fr. Duffy where he didn’thave his mouth wide open in animatedconversation. “But,” says Larned, “ineach I could see the love, enthusiasm,and joy for life he possessed.”

A visit to the artist’s studio –which he shares with his wife SarahLamb, an equally talented andadventurous oil painter – reveals aman who like Fr. Duffy is passionateand enthusiastic about his work. Hesays he’s a lifelong learner, alwaysteaching himself new techniques.“You have to learn how to be ateacher of yourself so when you’re inyour studio, you can critique yourselfwhile in your mind you listen to allyour past teachers.”

P R O F I L E S


Larned fondly remembers thosepast teachers at the PennsylvaniaAcademy of the Fine Arts, the Univer-sity of Pennsylvania, and the FlorenceAcademy of Art. “I loved being a stu-dent in Florence because as a studentyou don’t really know exactly whatyou want until you find it. I did someteaching there, but what I do is SO-O-O specific that I don’t know if I canreally help students. I’m a one-trickpony. This,” Larned makes a sweeping

gesture that circles his studio, “is howI paint. I need my light like this; I needmy music just so. I have no idea howto throw a pot. I can’t do anythingelse. I couldn’t teach unless I had fullcontrol – no program, no course ofstudy, I have to do it MY way.”

His way has won him a variety ofawards including semi-finalist in theNational Portrait Gallery’s BoocheverPortrait Competition, the DonelsonFigure Painting Prize, and the Historic

Yellow Springs Landscape Prize. Hehas exhibited in New York, San Fran-cisco, and Philadelphia as well asmany other east coast venues.

Light is key to his works. He neverpaints with artificial light. “I can onlywork during the day because I onlypaint with natural light. It’s softer,more beautiful. It’s absolutely gor-geous. There’s nothing else like it.”The paintings that surround him – heworks on four or five at a time – areworks in progress that are testamentto his focus on light, tone, and com-position.

Larned transformed his garageinto a studio with all windows facingnorth to provide ambient light all daylong. “No genius on my part,” saysLarned. “That’s how almost all artists’studios are constructed.” He is charm-ing in his self-effacement. “And I’mnot temperamental or bizarre. All ourartist friends are quite frankly boringand totally normal. We have 9 to 5jobs just like other folks.”

“My work is sometimes acombination of life and pho-tos. I make people the sizethey are. Otherwise you losehuman relationship. That’salways the way I like topaint. Commissions usuallycome to me by word-of-mouth. And,” says Larned,“when folks see my work,they take an active interest inwanting to become a subjectof a portrait.”

When Larned unveiled his portraitfor the first time, he told the commit-tee members this: “A portrait tells astory about the past and in doing soconnects you to it.” When folks lookat his painting of the Rev. David J.Duffy, O.S.A., they will make the con-nection as they smile and nod at anicon who will smile right back. •

feature - David Larned

Documents

Transcript of feature - David Larned