A Historic SLU Trifecta

Wednesday, Feb. 7, marked the last day of the Brush Art Gallery’s first art exhibition of the Spring 2024 semester: “Portraying St. Lawrence.” This exhibition highlights portraits of former St. Lawrence members Dr. Margaret Kent Bass, Ernest M. Kaientaronkwen Benedict, and Reverend Kathleen Buckley. Each honoree was a prolific figure in SLU’s history. 

Bass initially served as the Director of Multicultural Affairs in 1993 before joining the English department in 2000. Over the next six years, she was promoted to Associate Dean for Faculty and Interim VP and Dean of Students. The Brush Art Gallery website states, “Among her many accolades are the Owen D. Young Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year Award and the Emily Eaton Hepburn Award for Creative Leadership.” Nadirah Croft ’21 was commissioned to draw Bass’s portrait. 

Benedict of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation was the first Indigenous St. Lawrence graduate in 1941. He later became the chief of the Akwesasne Mohawk Council. Benedict started Akwesasne Notes, one of the first Mohawk newspapers. He was a strong advocate against Indigenous oppression and made a strong global impact by his passing in 2011. Dave Kanietakeron Fadden, Ray’s grandson, was commissioned for the portrait. 

Buckley was the university chaplain from 2001 until she passed away in 2020. She was an integral advocate for “intergroup dialogue, restorative justice trainings, fostering interfaith dialogue and space, and various diversity working groups,” to quote the gallery website. Her partner, and the current St. Lawrence chaplain, Reverend Dr. Shaun Whitehead said of Buckley, “When Kathleen said all are welcome, she meant it with her full being.” Mikayla Quinn ’25 painted the portrait. 

The idea behind the project came up during a casual lunch between associate professors Allison Rowland, Angie Sweigart-Gallagher, and Jessica Sierk. All three were close colleagues of Buckley before her passing in 2020 and wanted a way to commemorate her and other pivotal St. Lawrence community members. 

“We put out a call [to the SLU community] for nominations to crowdsource ideas for who else we might honor. We received quite the who’s who list of nominees, but Benedict and Bass stood out,” said Sierk of their decision. The funding for the project came from a generous Arts Collaborative grant. Each commissioned artist was also nominated through general consensus, as well as communications with the honorees’ families. 

A dedication ceremony was held on Jan. 19. Family members and friends of the honorees, as well as Bass herself, attended the event. It was a beautiful occasion that brought together over a century of history in St. Lawrence County, and hopefully just another step to greater diversity recognition in the area. 

Sierk said of the portraits, “the artistic diversity exhibited in this event serves as a metaphor for the diversity of people who have been here and continue to be here. There’s beauty in the raw and authentic, and SLU is a better place when we take time to recognize this.” 

Catherine Tedford, President of the gallery, stated, “we [will] install the new portraits on campus in the next few weeks. Ernest Benedict will be displayed outside the Hannon Room in the Student Center; Margaret Kent Bass in ODY Library; and Rev. Kathleen Buckley in the Chapel.”