GEORGE DESVALLIÈRES (Paris 1861–1950 Paris) The Ascension, God the Father Watercolor, gouache, and oil on paper mounted on cardboard, grid-lined Signed and dated lower left: “George Desvallières / 1926” Height: 57 cm - Width: 42.2 cm God the Father is a preparatory drawing by George Desvallières for one of the monumental canvases (549 x 366 cm) in the Ascension cycle that decorates the ceiling of the nave of St. John the Baptist Church in Pawtucket, in Rhode Island, United States. It is located near the choir. God the Father is depicted enthroned in majesty at the center of an arch-shaped composition representing the vault of the heavens. His arms are wide open before a sun-like celestial body, his hands outstretched to bless the world. At his feet is the Holy Spirit, symbolized as a dove. From the dove, rays of light radiate and descend upon the other two compositions, *Christ the Mediator* and *The Apostles*, thereby creating visual unity throughout the entire nave. To the right of the composition stands an imposing angelic figure in armor, whom Desvallières identifies as the Archangel Saint Michael in his descriptions. This sketch is part of a series we are offering for sale—three monumental canvases painted in 1926, illustrating the mystery of the Ascension for Saint John the Baptist Church in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, in the United States. At the time this work was created, George Desvallières was an artist in his sixties at the height of his artistic powers and institutional recognition. He established himself as the great innovator of modern Christian art. Deeply marked by his experience of World War I and the death of his son in combat, Desvallières vowed to devote his painting entirely to God. He definitively abandoned the secular and mythological subjects of his early career to turn toward monumental religious works. In 1919, he co-founded the Ateliers d’art sacré with his friend Maurice Denis. In 1926, he became its co-director, serving as a leader and mentor to a whole new generation of young Christian artists committed to the renewal of religious art. The Pawtucket project was part of a decade of intense monumental production. He had just completed the tragic and commemorative cycle for the Chapel of Saint-Privat in the Gard (1919–1925) and, as early as 1927, was preparing to design the stained-glass windows for the Douaumont Ossuary. This American project was entrusted to him by Father Alphonse Graton and the Quebec architect Ernest Cormier and was intended for a parish composed largely of French-Canadian exiles. Unlike the decoration of the Saint-Privat Chapel, this design is distinguished by its majestic, bright, and joyful atmosphere. The artist employs luminous colors to express divine glory and serenity, without any reference to the horrors of battle. The main iconographic program consists of four large painted coffers affixed to the church ceiling. The sketches we present here are preparatory studies for three of these monumental canvases (nearly 5 x 4 m) that illustrate the mystery of the Ascension: The Apostles, Christ the Mediator, and God the Father. In the American church, they are arranged in sequence from the entrance of the nave to the choir and are followed by a fourth panel, suspended directly above the altar, depicting the Triumph of the Eucharist. These very large canvases were painted in France by Desvallières before being rolled up to cross the Atlantic and mounted on site. He managed to complete these monumental canvases in just four months of relentless work, which critics of the time hailed as a record for a man of his age. When they were exhibited at the 1926 Salon d’Automne in Paris, the critical response was unanimous and laudatory. This entire series was completed in 1928 with an Annunciation to decorate the wedding chapel. The studies we present here are previously unpublished and supplement those described in the catalogue raisonné by Catherine Ambroselli de Bayser (Ambroselli, Hornus, Lequeu, George Desvallières: Catalogue Raisonné of the Complete Works, Paris, Somogy, 2015, pp. 468–475, CR 1819–1832) We would like to thank Catherine Ambroselli de Bayser and Priscilla Hornus, who will be adding these drawings to the catalogue raisonné of George Desvallières’s complete works.