Exploring Black History at Trinity: Allan Rohan Crite

Allan Rohan Crite

(March 20, 1910 - Sept. 6, 2007)

Allan Rohan Crite, born in Plainfield New Jersey and an almost lifelong resident of the Boston area, was an artist whose life work demonstrates two things: first, a commitment to exploring and celebrating the lived experience of Black Americans; and second, his deep Christian faith as a lifelong Episcopalian. Crite’s early paintings depict lively, everyday scenes in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, a predominantly Black neighborhood. Describing these works, Crite writes: “My intention in the neighborhood paintings and some drawings was to show aspects of life in the city with special reference to the use of the terminology ‘black’ people and to present them in an ordinary light, persons enjoying the usual pleasures of life with its mixtures of both sorrow and joys… I was an artist-reporter, recording what I saw.”

During the 1930s Crite shifted to more religious subject matter. He created profound ink drawings and lithographs depicting stories from the Bible, particularly the life of Jesus Christ, in contemporary settings. In one image, Mary cradles an infant Jesus next to a trash can in a poor urban neighborhood. In another, a dark-skinned Jesus hangs on the cross facing oblivious light-skinned pedestrians with the caption: “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?” Crite’s images are heartfelt, faithful meditations on how the incarnation of Jesus is present in our lives today, and how we as Christians are called to see Jesus in the face of those who are marginalized and oppressed; those whose very lives are at stake in a country still plagued by racism. In his autobiography, Crite stated, “For a long time, I felt as far as the Church was concerned, that there was too much the impression of a mostly European institution, practically to the exclusion of anything else.” Crite offers a different impression - an impression of a church that is diverse and courageous in facing the social realities of our present time.

While Crite does not have a direct personal connection to the City of New Haven or to Trinity, we are grateful to have come to know Crite’s work better through Trinity parishioner Bill Kellett, whose father the Rev. William Kellett was a pastor to Crite while serving at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Boston.

Sources:

“Allan Rohan Crite,” The Smithsonian Institution, website, accessed 17 Feb 2021, https://americanart.si.edu/artist/allan-rohan-crite-1047.

“The Art of Faith: Allan Rohan Crite at St. John St. James Parish, Roxbury,” Historic Boston Incorporated, blog (28 Feb 2019), accessed 17 Feb 2021, https://historicboston.org/the-art-of-faith-allan-rohan-crite-at-st-john-st-james-parish-roxbury/.