Chas Fagan Connects Art With History

By Natalie Pruett, marketing and communications

FOR 11 YEARS running, Country Day has hosted a public art exhibition in the Hance Family Gallery featuring well-known artists and art collections generously shared by members of our own community. This year’s contributor and artist is one in the same in Chas Fagan, a Country Day parent and world-renowned visual artist.

Best-known for combining his artistic gifts with his knowledge of history, some of Mr. Fagan’s high-profile commissions include oil portraits of all 45 U.S. Presidents; along with statues of President Reagan in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, Neil Armstrong for Purdue University, Rosa Parks in the Washington National Cathedral; and the official portrait of Mother Teresa for her canonization at St. Peter’s in Rome.

The range of art exhibits we feature ties art education directly to our community, reaching all levels of interest and age groups,” says Upper School Art Department Chair and Hance Family Gallery Director Tom Delaney.

An installation of 26 of Mr. Fagan’s pieces featured both in-progress and completed works, which hung in the Hance Family Gallery from February 4–March 1. Mr. Fagan’s Captain Jack bronze statue, currently displayed on the Greenway in Uptown Charlotte, was represented by portions of the original cast and suspended from the gallery ceiling. Additionally, maquettes (smallscale preliminary models), sketches, and photographs accompanied the displayed works to reveal the creative process from start to finish. Students from all divisions, grades, and subject areas visited the exhibit and some Upper School art students will work directly with Mr. Fagan during the spring semester.

Sharing Artistic Talents with Middle School

This wasn’t the first time the Country Day community benefited from Mr. Fagan’s artistic talents. Last year, he was a visiting artist at the Middle School, where he worked with eighth-grade art students on the design of a bronze sculpture now featured at Bissell Campus.

The sculpture depicts an oak tree stump draped with a buccaneer flag and tricorn hat, with various symbols representing learning, knowledge, and Country Day history. The students came up with the theme because they wanted to visually tell a story that combined the school’s mission, history, and culture. “My goal was to give students the freedom to express their own artistic ideas and collaborate with the results,” says Mr. Fagan. “I got to witness the paths of their imaginations and the culmination of all their creativity. From the start, the fun, thoughtful contents in the students’ brainstorming and doodling were overwhelming! They proudly point out the iconography and details they created to capture the Middle School’s spirit and history.”

It was a very memorable, inspiring, and eye-opening opportunity to work with Mr. Fagan,” says Linde Fonville, Upper School student who was part of last year’s sculpture project. “I was grateful to learn about professional art, but I also enjoyed making a piece of art that will last for generations on the Country Day campus.”

“The opportunity to work side by side with Chas Fagan gave my students a glimpse into the process that artists use to create in real time, as well as a chance to cast in bronze, which is a rare treat for any young artist,” says Mike Hennessey, eighth-grade art teacher who led the project. “My students loved that Mr. Fagan was a real person, not some far away art history subject, which made art real for them. This was an incredible experience for these young art students.”