Siblings George Capps and Polly Capps Paule are part of a growing renaissance of Catholic sacred art — and their work is just what people want.
George Capps didn't expect to become an artist. He loved creating art as a kid — “I spent all my free time during childhood honing my artistic skills,” he told Aleteia — but a lackluster university art class propelled him into science instead, and then into a corporate career.
But his younger sister, Polly Capps Paule, pulled him back. Polly grew up around his art. Twelve years younger than George, some of her earliest memories were sitting on his lap watching him paint, or pretending to paint on his canvases.
In their busy family of eight siblings growing up in St. Louis, these two shared a special connection around art. And when Polly ended up studying art and beginning a career in the field, she lit a fire under George.
He had gotten her into art in the first place, and now she inspired him to follow her into an art career. They joined forces and created Goretti Fine Art, producing original sacred, liturgical, and devotional artwork, with a focus on custom altarpieces, murals, and paintings.
From corporate career to sacred art
Transitioning from a corporate career to working as an artist felt like a leap of faith — but it turned out to be a wise move. The siblings were pleasantly surprised at their work’s popularity right from the get-go.
“We thought there was some unmet need out there for more classical beauty in the life of the Church, but we were very unprepared for just how quickly things would take off,” Capps said. “I was expecting to have to spend a lot more time in those early days on marketing and so forth. But from the time we opened our doors, we've generally been booked months, if not years, out.”
Still based in St. Louis, for the last five years the siblings have created extraordinary original artwork, both for churches and institutions and for private individuals.
“We work together very well,” Capps said. “We have complementary skill sets and a very aligned creative vision.”
A renaissance in Catholic art
Why is their work in such high demand? Capps believes the Church is “at the early stages of a renaissance in Catholic sacred and religious art.”
While most art throughout history built on the previous epoch, the 20th century saw a dramatic rupture in that continuity, he said. “By the 20th century, the Church was no longer a major patron of the arts, and often the arts were disconnected from any traditional sense of what is beautiful.”
But he’s seeing a marked shift in recent years. “There's an increasing awareness of the need for the transcendent in our lives, and that is so often mediated through art and music and architecture.”
More and more, old churches that underwent renovations to flatten and simplify them are being restored to their former beauty. New churches tend to feature classical styles such as Gothic, Romanesque, and Neoclassical — breaking away from the minimalist and utilitarian styles of the mid-20th century.
It seems the artistic tides have shifted. “I think we are fitting into a broader trend, both of artists like ourselves and of philosophers and theologians and other thought leaders who are articulating the philosophical rationale for what we are doing,” he said.
Why Baroque?
Within that shift, different artists pursue varying historic styles. While some artists work in the traditions of medieval Gothic or Renaissance or others, Capps and Capps Paule create artwork in the tradition of the late Italian Baroque, which is often “charged with spiritual energy” and “tends to be very dramatic and theatrical,” Capps said. He finds the style to fit well with the spirit of the Mass:
It is trying to evoke awe and wonder and a sense of being caught up in something much greater than ourselves — because that's what the Mass is. It's sweeping you into this timeless reality that transcends time and space and makes you realize that you're a part of a story that's much larger than yourself.
Clearly the leap of faith to become an artist was meant to be—and now, in a world that’s hungry for beauty, this brother and sister have made artistic renewal a family project.
You can order prints of Goretti Fine Art's paintings, read about the planning and stories behind their iconic works, or see George Capps and Polly Capps Paule’s advice for artists.
