Apr 17, 2019 5 min read

While going through an extensive collection of artworks by Brownsville artist Frank L. Melega, Patrick Daugherty came across a painting of St. Peter’s Church in Brownsville.

The painting Daugherty titled “Midnight Mass” is just one of many works that remain both at his house and at the home of the artist’s son, Frank R. Melega of Rices Landing. As director of the Frank L. Melega Museum in Brownsville, Daugherty is attempting to go through and identify the stored artworks that include paintings, drawings, sketches and sculpture.

A believer that an artwork should be seen and appreciated, be it at a museum, a gallery, a place of business or in a private collection, Daugherty discussed with the deceased artist’s son the matter of presenting the painting to St. Peter’s Church for inclusion in its art collection. He agreed to the plan, and, after the painting was cleaned, a special presentation ceremony took place at April 6 at the Frank L. Melega Museum in Brownsville.

The Rev. Timothy Kruthaupt said he and the congregation are very appreciative of the painting, which shows the church at night against a snow-covered foreground, with the parishioners filing inside for services.

“This is a very special day for us,” he said. “Not only is today the artist’s 114th birthday, but it’s also the day that the bishop consecrated the church 174 years ago. Now as we start our 175th anniversary year, I hope to display the painting prominently in the church vestibule.”

Underscoring the fact that Melega was a prolific artist who created works in various media, styles and subjects, Daugherty said he painted scenes of everything from the coal and coke era to portraiture, landscapes, figure paintings and still lifes.

“Nevertheless, religious art was an inseparable part of his portfolio,” he went on to say. “He depicted St. Peter’s Church in his art in at least six instances, not counting the small sketches and drawings. So you might say the church was a subject he revisited several times.”

Melega’s son, Frank R. Melega, also attests to his father’s interest in religious art. “Dad did a lot of design work for the interior local churches, including Mount Macrina in Uniontown,” he said. “But he loved the architecture of St. Peter’s and painted it often. At the age of 90, he made 11 wooden crossed keys covered with gold leaf that are mounted around the interior of the church.”

Visitors to the Melega Museum in Brownsville will see at least five of the artist’s religious pieces, including a large 18-by-20-inch head of Christ sculpture and a bas relief of Christ’s Crucifixion.

Former Brownsville mayor Norma Ryan said Melega was “faith filled and very comfortable about talking about his faith. He did multiple sketches, drawings and oil paintings of St. Peter’s in many styles,” she said. “He also designed the grotto of the Blessed Mother that stands near the church community center.”

Ryan and Brownsville High school junior Nick Seto presented a PowerPoint program on Melega’s life, art and museum at the University of Pittsburgh recently.

“To research the presentation, we looked at information found at the museum, on the museum website and in written works like the artist’s journal and papers his son brought in for us to look through,” Seto said.

In addition to screening 29 slides of Melega’s artworks, which included “Midnight Mass,” the presenters are planning to bring along reproductions of his paintings, sculpture and some of the artist’s personal items. The latter include things he creatively repurposed such as a car distributor cap he used to hold his pencils and ice cube trays he used to mix paint.

The presentation at the university’s Cathedral of Learning was actually a class offered by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, meant for adults 50 and older.

“Norma and Nick presented another Osher class last year on Brownsville history,” said Robert Stakeley, History Center Affiliates Program Coordinator at the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh. “I knew of Frank Melega and his art from past visits I made to Brownsville and thought more people should know about him, so I proposed they do another PowerPoint presentation.”

“For the past few months, my staff and I have been looking over the presentation, giving Norma and Nick comments and suggestions,” Stakeley said. “The presentation they’ve developed is both beautiful and interesting.”

At 6 p.m. on May 23, Ryan and Seto will repeat the presentation at the Brownsville High School library. The event will be free and open to the public.

“We are elated as a school district to work with Norma Ryan in an attempt to promote the rich tradition of Brownsville,” said Keith Hartbauer, Ph.D., superintendent of the Brownsville School District. “Mr. Melega’s art work that is on display downtown in the Flatiron Building is a prime example of the prideful heritage that exists in our town. We are also proud of our students, like Nick Seto, who has volunteered his time and efforts to assist Ms. Ryan in her endeavors. Anytime a school district and community can come together for a common cause, it makes events like this very special.”

For more information on the presentation at Brownsville High School, call 724-785-9331.