Stony Point Center Hosts Inclusive Religious Artworks

June 22, 2008

Author: Akiko Matsuda

Source: The Journal News

http://lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080622/NEWS03/806220378/-1/NEWSFRONT

The Stony Point Center has recently become the home of numerous religious and spiritual artworks from all over the world.

The collection was permanently loaned to the center by the Rev. James Parks Morton, president and chairman of the board for the Interfaith Center of New York in Manhattan, who served as dean for the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, also in Manhattan, from 1972 to 1997.

The 270-piece collection - including Greek and Russian icons from the 18th century, wooden sculptures by indigenous West Africans and a three-century old sculpture depicting the Virgin Mary and Christ child -is evidence of Morton's wide-range human network: All the artworks were gifts given to Morton by his friends.

About 100 pieces are on display in the entrance hall and in the hallway of the center's main building, welcoming visitors to the facility, which is owned and operated by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and hosts nonprofit organizations based both inside and outside the country.

Each piece of art, which is displayed on a newly painted wall of the facility, has its own story.