This drawing is taken from probably one of the most familiar scenes in my hometown of Durham, NC. This is the statue of James Buchanan Duke that stands in front of the Chapel which bears his name. Mr. Duke, a wealthy tobacco farmer and business man, was also a magnanimous philanthropist, as well as a true Christian gentleman. Although he is most famous for building Duke University (originally Trinity College - named after Duke at the behest of faculty grateful for his generosity), with all his wealth Mr. Duke always remembered the poor, the sick, and the marginalized.It seems that we in Durham have his Methodist upbringing to thank for Mr. Duke's many charitable endeavors. One of these I am most grateful for: the founding of Duke Hospital, my employer, which was so established in order to improve the health of North Carolinians. Duke chapel has been especially important to me, in that when I came to Duke to work after deciding not to pursue the priesthood, it was the best place I could find in a busy day to pray. One of my favorite details is found at the entry way to the Church: There, where saints would be found in any of the great cathedrals of Europe (on which Duke Chapel was modeled), there are carved statues of great reformers. These include Girolamo Savonarola, Martin Luther, John Wycliffe, and of course, John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. Flanking these statues are those of three great men of the American South: Thomas Jefferson, Robert E. Lee, and Sydney Lanier, a poet popular at the time of the Chapel's construction. Leave it to us Carolinians!
To read more about the life of Mr. Duke, please visit this link.
Go here to learn more about the history of Duke Chapel.
This drawing is to be a gift for someone who will be leaving our clinic (where I work at Duke) to serve in a different department. You may notice when you look at the larger image of the drawing that the detail is rough - this is because the drawing is actually only a 5 x 7 original. I hope that you like it!
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