Cape Cod Supper

Alice Stallknecht Wight of Chatham, Mass. is an artist who knows how to get her unskilled, matter-of-fact portraits into newspaper headlines. She paints her Cape Cod neighbors into a Biblical subject, gives the mural to Chatham's First Congregational Church which was founded in 1696 by a fisherman. Three years ago she did it with Christ Preaching to the Multitude, with a beardless, sneering Portuguese fisherman for Christ (TIME, Aug. 15, 1932). Last week she made more headlines when she gave First Congregational a companion piece called The Last Supper.

The Last Supper's scene is a New England Wednesday night church supper of brown bread, baked beans, coffee. At the long tables all plates are turned down, while Christ at a little centre table asks a blessing. To Christ's right (facing the picture) sits Mrs. Sidney Atwood, president of Chatham's Church Association, with Mr. & Mrs. Nathan Buck (oysters). To the left beams Mrs. George Eldredge, association vice president. Just beneath Christ are Chatham's oldest inhabitant, 94-year-old Captain Sam Harding, and Dr. Northing, with arms folded. Behind the doctor are three Coast Guard captains. Next to Captain Harding are his son Lawyer Herman Harding, Mrs. Harding (president of the Massachusetts Federation of Women's Clubs) and their daughter Virginia. Above Christ are Joe Eldredge (garage) & family. Left of the Eldredges are aged Mr. & Mrs. Renfrew Edwards, to the right is Captain James Clark with his wife and Mrs. Rebecca Swan.

Last week Artist Wight, wife of a retired professor of Greek, refused to identify her model for Christ, apparently the Portuguese fisherman who appeared in her first picture. Of the others she said: "They posed with a literal seriousness that was very moving."

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