Liturgical Arts Society

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LITURGICAL ARTS SOCIETY

A national organization which existed from 1928 to 1972 for the renewal of liturgical art and aesthetics. The ideals of the society were drawn from the following propositions: (1) the official public worship of the Church has infinite spiritual value and a unique and majestic beauty;(2) this value and beauty demand that the products of artistic endeavor used in the service of the Church embody the highest quality of art and architecture that is free from commercialism and sentimentality. Its principal contribution to the Liturgical Movement among Roman Catholics in the United States was the quarterly journal Liturgical Arts, which served an important role in promoting the renewal of liturgical art and architecture and stimulating conversation among artists, architects, artisans, liturgists and clerics. In its latter years, the society suffered from a chronic lack of funds, leading finally to its demise in 1972.

Bibliography: s. j. white, Art, Architecture and Liturgical Reform: The Liturgical Arts Society (19281972 ) (New York 1990).

[m. lavanoux/eds.]