Fellowship of Christians in Portraiture

John Howard Sanden is a New York based
portrait painter.

Personal Testimonies by Fellowship Members

Showers of Blessing
by John Howard Sanden

n the first place, I was blessed with a wonderful Christian family. My father was a minister (Presbyterian) and an evangelist. My mother taught Sunday School and elementary school. We of course went to church every Sunday. But, much more than that, we were all actively and deeply involved in Christian activities.

I was a high achiever in high school — straight A's, President of the Student Council, Valedictorian, Most Likely to Succeed. Graduating from Minneapolis Central High School at sixteen, I entered the Minneapolis School of Art, zealous to make my mark in the great world of art.

During my high school and art school years, I never relaxed my involvement with Christian activities, but a mood of skepticism found its way into my innermost thoughts. To my father's great dismay, I left the small evangelical churches which had been my only experience, and joined a big, downtown (liberal) church. I loved the stained glass, the magnificent architecture, the glorious music, and the absence of personal demands.

In the Billy Graham art
department, 1960.
Photo by Russ Busby

By my twenty-fifth year, I had married and became an art director for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association — a position I held for nine years. The involvement with the Graham organization was thrilling. I designed book covers and album jackets. I did illustrations for the monthly magazine and painted storyboards for the film ministry. I flew regularly to Hollywood to work on the sets of the Billy Graham films and to paint advertising posters. The men and women I worked with were powerful Christian witnesses. But, inside, I was drifting further and further away. I neglected prayer and Bible reading. I was uninvolved in the spiritual disciplines.

In 1969 — at the age of 34 — I made the most momentous decision of my life. I decided to leave the Graham organization and the associations of a lifetime, and move to New York City.

I tore myself away from Billy Graham (enormously difficult), sold my house in suburban Minneapolis, and set out (with Priscilla, my wife of ten years) for an unknown world.

The first year in New York was tumultuous. The Lord poured out blessings upon me in incredible measure. He led me out of my focus on illustration art, and opened up to me the vast and exciting world of portrait painting.

Everything came easy. I established a New York studio, won instant appointment to the rosters of the galleries which specialized in my new field, and — without any background or qualification — I won a coveted faculty position at the most famous art school in the world — the Art Students League of New York. Professional success of an astonishing magnitude was simply handed to me. But the Lord was preparing my heart for something truly big.

My daughter Pam was born in 1972, and — when she was a year old — her mother Priscilla died at age 32. At that point the Lord suddenly threw open all the doors in my life. First, He gave me a beautiful second wife and a marvelous mother for Pam. Elizabeth Schneider — my most talented Art Students League student — became my wife a scant six months after Priscilla's death.

Then the Lord led both of us to The Book. Our beloved pastor at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, Dr. Bryant M. Kirkland, announced a year-long "Through the Bible" course. We did not miss a lesson in the 54-week course. The fabulous riches of Scripture lay open before us. We became excited about the Word of God and the limitless possibilities that now lay open before us. It was 1980.

The study of the Bible transformed our lives through the power of Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ is now where He should have been all along — at the very center of our lives. I greet each new day in a thrill of expectation of walking through the day with the Lord at my side.

John Howard Sanden
New York, New York
July, 2000