Personal and Family Materials, Ade Bethune Papers

Ade Bethune was a woman of prolific creative talents and passionate living. Bethune (born Marie Adelaide de Bethune in Schaerbeek, Belgium on January 12, 1914) kept detailed records throughout her lifetime. Beginning with her childhood in Belgium, to developmental years as an artist in New York City, to her adult work based in Newport, Rhode Island, she left behind evidence of a life fully lived.

Just after Bethune’s birth, World War I broke out in Europe and her father, Gaston S. P. de Bethune, went to serve in the Army. This left Bethune’s siblings and her mother, Marthe Therese Terlinden, to make a life for themselves. Bethune’s first language was Flemish, followed by the French spoken by her “Bonne Maman” and her widowed Grandfather Terlinden. His contribution of daily drawings in Ade’s notebook sparked her early creativity. She published her first pictures in 1926, a year that also inspired young Ade’s spiritual passion. This was the 700th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis, a story which moved her to give away many of her childhood possessions and begin a life of devoted simple service.

After the war, Bethune’s family moved in 1928 to an apartment in New York City so that her father could pursue new work. Ade quickly learned English in school. At age 15, she began to split her time between high school and art schools, first at Parson’s School of Art, later at the National Academy of Design, and finally at the Cooper Union Day Art School. Her first major work of art during this time was a stained glass medallion, executed after winning a competition in 1933. The next spiritual inspirations also happened during this time, when Ade came across a book of psalms that spoke to her, found the publication The Catholic Worker (for which she would soon design a new masthead and begin submitting artwork), and learned of the editor Dorothy Day’s work to help feed and house the poor of the Depression years. The relationship with Day and the Worker introduced Bethune’s work to the general public, and in particular caught the eye of craftsmen Arthur Graham Carey and John Howard Benson, who became creative mentors to Bethune. It was also during this time that Bethune began to receive her first liturgical art commissions (for both publications and churches) and kept sketchbooks of these creative endeavors.

In pursuit of apprenticeships with her mentors, Bethune moved to Newport, Rhode Island in 1938, where she ultimately lived for the rest of her life. During her years there she worked in several spheres of activity, including an apprenticeship and then teaching at the John Stevens Shop; as liturgical artist and principal church consultant under the business heading “Bethune-Dutra Associates, Liturgical Consultants, and Architects;” as founder and head of the” St. Leo Shop” (a mail-order business selling a variety of religious-themed items created by Bethune and other craftspeople); as editor of Sacred Signs and The Catholic Art Quarterly; as art director for the “Terra Sancta Guild”; and in addition, as an active participant in social justice, environmental, and community causes and boards. In her later years she gave a number of conference presentations, wrote numerous articles, and founded a senior living center. She was frequently acknowledged publicly for her works through numerous awards, degrees, and honors given by academic, cultural, community, and religious institutions. Bethune presented herself with her first Latin degree in 1939, and eventually received an additional 8 Honorary Doctorates during her lifetime.

In her private life, Bethune remained actively devoted to and involved with her many family members, both stateside and in Europe. She was especially fond of her nieces and nephews and worked with them on various projects. She remained a single woman and filled her simple home life with pets (Husky dogs and cats), crafts, gardening, cooking, and residential projects. She also rented a number of properties to tenants and looked after aging friends. Bethune died in May of 2002 and was buried in a coffin that she had made for herself several decades earlier.