- Douglas Cooper and George O'Brien sat down in the 'leisure room' in the New Rochelle, NY home of Lumen Winter—painter, sculptor, and remarkable too for his mosaics.
The Interview
The discussion began with his 1949 painting seeking to replicate da Vinci's The Last Supper. It was requested by a young real estate executive, who asked that it be one-forth the size of the original.
Winter said that a true artist approaches his work humbly, as a child. He determined that the painting would be full sized, and that he and his assistant would go to Vinci, Italy. The da Vinci home was in ruins, but the government restored it for him, as he studied the painterly skills to do his work. The painting toured the US and ultimately hung at the University at Notre Dame.
He next told the story of creating art for the dome of the Cathedral in Washington, DC. Also among his great creations were two large mosaics now at the DC headquarters of the UFL-CIO. President Eisenhower dedicated the first (north) wall mural. The south wall, entitled Labor Omnia Vincit, is an enormous mosaic, made of tiny stones.
Winter was planning the dome of the Washington Cathedral when he died.
Behind the Scenes
When Winter learned that we were to interview his friend, George Meany, he wrote a letter asking him to have his photographer get a shot of the three us in front of the Labor Omni Vincit mural. [Index 'Meany' to see that work].