Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka

The Murals of Maxo Vanka

Maksimilijan (Maxo) Vanka's (1989-1963)
most important works are his Millvale
Murals in the St. Nicholas Croatian
Catholic Church, in
Millvale, Pennsylvania, which depict
Christ and Mary in images of war and
offer social commentary on world events
like fascism, war, and poverty. Murals
painted before the war depict Croatian
immigrants coming to America to seek a
better life, grateful to have escaped the
slaughter taking place in their homeland.
This was the painter’s Mothers offer
up their sons for labor theme, a tribute
to all those who worked diligently in the
mills and mines in and around Pittsburgh.
One mural depicts the fire and collapse
of one of the coal burning mills and as a
Croatian mother cradles her dead son,
her other three sons rush into the mill
to save their fellow workers and are killed.
A committed pacifist, the intensity of
Vanka's beliefs are depicted clearly in
post-war murals. One is of the
Virgin Mary coming between two
warring soldiers. Another depicts
two soldiers battling each other, yet this
time it is Jesus who attempts to intercede
and one of the soldiers accidentally
thrusts his bayonet into Jesus' heart.

Henry Clay Frick

Henry Clay Frick was an American industrialist, financier, union-buster, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company, and played a major role in the formation of the giant U.S. Steel steel manufacturing concern. He also financed the construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Reading Company, and owned extensive real estate holdings in Pittsburgh and throughout the state of Pennsylvania. He later built the historic neoclassical Frick Mansion and at his death donated his extensive collection of old master paintings and fine furniture to create the celebrated Frick Collection and art museum.


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