RIP: Robert McGovern, 78, Philadelphia Professor Emeritus and Artist

INQUIRER
By Sally Downey

A wood carving done by Robert F. McGovern.

PENNSYLVANIA - Robert F. McGovern, 78, of Narberth, a professor emeritus at the University of the Arts whose wood carvings and sculptures adorn numerous churches, died of complications from leukemia, Wednesday, April 13, at Lankenau Hospital. In 2003, Villanova University featured a 50-year retrospective show of Mr. McGovern's paintings, prints, wood carvings, and sculptures. Inquirer art critic Victoria Donohoe wrote that the exhibit "offers a formidable presentation of work by a confident and mature artist who aims to show traditional religious subjects in a way that has meaning for today." After graduating from what is now the University of Arts, he was invited to join the faculty. For the next 43 years, he taught freshmen drawing and design as well as printmaking and other courses until retiring in 1999. In 1986, Mr. McGovern told The Inquirer, "One strives always to do better, to face new challenges. " [link]