Just in time for Halloween, a nighttime tour of St. Nicholas Croatian Church in Millvale looks at the uncanny and beautiful murals by Maxo Vanka — and explores the possible unusual ghost story origins of these remarkable works.
Maxo Vanka’s Remarkable Murals in Millvale — And the Ghost Story He Kept Quiet
The works of artist Maksimilijan “Maxo” Vanka that ornament Millvale’s St. Nicholas Croatian Church glow with a mystical, enigmatic quality that is otherworldly — even beyond their supernatural subject matter. These images of gods and saints, of war, woe, and workers, are mesmerizing; the eyes that stare into the soul capture not only the gaze of the viewer but burrow deeper to thoroughly bewitch.
If something a bit uncanny sends a shiver down the spine as we confront them, it could be because something a bit uncanny joined Vanka as he created them.
The Spooky Side of the Maxo Vanka Murals
“Something really strange happened to him while he was painting them,” says Timothy Grieve-Carlson. On Thursday, October 29th, Grieve-Carlson, a docent with the Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka, will present The Artist & The Apparition: Vanka’s Murals and the Cultural Value of Ghost Stories.
Vanka was commissioned to paint the murals by Father Albert Zagar. Originally built in 1900, St. Nicholas was destroyed by fire in 1921 and rebuilt in 1922. Father Zagar became pastor in 1931; after addressing more pressing budgetary issues, he sought to welcome the congregation with something more appropriate and representational than bare white walls. He’d seen Vanka’s works in an exhibition and reached out to the immigrant community to make a connection. Word spread to writer Louis Adamic, who brought the two together; in 1937, Vanko began transforming blank surfaces into walls of wonder.
“Vanka saw ghosts continually while working,” says Grieve-Carlson, “but afterwards, he decided not to tell anyone.” Vanka’s motivation for withholding these visitations was twofold; in part, he was protecting himself, but he also had the well-being of the Croatian people on his mind. “They were an ethnic minority, often with limited English abilities,” Grieve-Carlson says, “and sometimes looked down on by outsiders.” Vanka was concerned that talk of hauntings and spirits would reinforce perceptions of superstition, of foolishness.
Unveiling Maxo Vanka’s Ghostly Encounters
Eventually, the story needed to be told. Vanka turned to Ademic — author, editor and champion of minority populations — to tell it. The piece that followed, The Millvale Apparition, was published in Harper’s Magazine, December 1937.
The story isn’t just that of a man and a ghost. It’s a tale of three men — Vanka, Ademic and Zagar — of similar geographic origins and some similar beliefs. As Grieve-Carlson points out, the trio shared intellectual, artistic and political sensibilities. On one point, though, Ademic and Vanka differed from Zagar. “Neither were religious,” he says, “but rather suspicious or even resistant.”
One might expect a comparable view of spectres. But ghost stories don’t necessarily require faith, and Grieve-Carlson is approaching the ghost, the murals and the men with a focus on tradition.
“I want to be able to look at ghost stories not necessarily as sensational mysteries of the unexplained,” he says, “but as cultural artifacts that contain worthwhile information.” Vanka’s works, and his experiences during their conception, are the perfect intersection of action and result to begin that exploration.
The Artist & The Apparition is a one-time only event, but lectures are offered periodically and mural tours are available every week; all can be scheduled through the Society’s website.
Story by Lissa Brennan
Photos by Amy Sea Fisher