Church of St. Augustine & St. Martin on Lenox St. in Boston’s South End by AR Crite

For a respite from the bustle of the holidays, a visit to the Gardner Museum was in order. There, in the exhibit Allan Rohan Crite: Urban Glory, we learned of the project that Crite completed as an artist in residence at the Museum of African American History on Beacon Hill.

This image, one of a set of lithographs on display, depicts the Episcopal Church of St. Augustine and St. Martin from An Artist’s Sketchbook of the South End: A Walking Tour about Black People, 1977. The curator’s note explains:

The group of 13 illustrations represents a tour of sites that were important for the broader Black community in the South End and Lower Roxbury. Crite also included personally significant sites, including his childhood home, which had been demolished years before. The walking tour blends past and present, nostalgia, and reportage.

On view until January 19, 2026, the Gardner’s community-driven retrospective of his work would add joy to your holiday season. Gaudete!

-Mary Beth Clack, Mary Blocher, Cindy Coldren, Pat Krol, Liz Levin