Local artist donates life’s
work to Louisiana abbey
Sidney Becnel’s collection
to raise funds for his
seminary alma mater
By elaine van develde

MARIE ORTIZ Keyport artist Sid Becnel, a former priest and psychoanalyst, works on one of his paintings.

For those who know him, there’s not much else left for Keyport resident Sidney Becnel to do.

He’s an artist, a former priest and a psychoanalyst. He’s also an art therapist, a dad, a residential real estate property manager and Keyport’s own cheerleader. Now he thinks it’s time to add benefactor to the list.

After 40 years of painting, 60-year-old Becnel has decided to donate most of his life’s work to St. Joseph’s Abbey in Louisiana, where he studied for the priesthood.

"Why am I doing this? Because it’s heroic to do it," Becnel said. "I could be like everyone else and show and sell my paintings, but I consider it a creative leap to give back to an institution that contributed so much to my well-being as a human."

Becnel has remained an active member of the seminary’s alumni for many years and wouldn’t have it any other way.

"This institution has been educating young men for the priesthood for more than 75 years. The abbey is getting old and in dire need of restoration. There’s no reason I can’t help," he said.

According to Becnel, a total of $7.1 million must be raised to refurbish all the buildings that comprise the seminar.

Becnel said he will catalog 83 paintings for silent auction bid. Most of those paintings will be sent to Louisiana for an Oct. 14 benefactor and alumni party to kick off the bidding process.

More than 1,200 alumni of the seminary will be invited and will also receive the catalog.

The paintings have primarily Southern themes, including plantation scenes and riverboats. There are also what he calls his ’70s stuff: portraits and landscapes featuring many faces and places in and out of the country.

"I spent many years on these genres," Becnel said. "This donation also represents the beginning of a new phase of artistry for me.

"I feel that a true artist is ever-evolving in his perspective," he explained. "Now seems to be the right time for me to start over and concentrate on other messages I want to share through my work. It’s all about sending a meaningful message, controversial or not."

To see his work, you’d think that Becnel’s messages melt effortlessly onto the canvas.

His dedication to everything from his subject to his oils medium make him get lost in "the moment," so much so that once he’s done he frequently steps back and asks himself, "Now, how did I do that?"

Becnel will tell you that nothing disturbs him when he’s immersed in painting, "nothing except pain or hunger," and it shows.

Though he says he feels as if he’s always been drawing, Becnel officially started painting while a student at the seminary. That was 1960. He was ordained for the priesthood in 1965.

By the time the 1970s rolled around, Becnel had ended up a priest at St. Joseph’s here in Keyport.

Before beginning his tenure at St. Joseph’s in 1976, Becnel started studying psychology at Long Island University’s branch in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Though he was fascinated with psychology and the role it played in influencing and intensifying his art, he graduated with a master’s degree in education.

The Ph.D. in psychology came later when he completed his psychology studies through Union Institute, which he calls "a university without walls," in Cincinnati.

He also managed to fit in getting his master’s degree in art therapy from the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, in 1978.

Becnel left the priesthood in 1983 "for personal reasons," but stays active with St. Joseph’s by serving on the Parish Leadership Council and as a consultant to the pastor.

He has also continued creating up a storm, conducting private therapy sessions and managing residential real estate properties.

Becnel is cheering Keyport on in any way he can. He has painted its decorative downtown banners and has even designed a brochure or two.

And amidst all this activity, love for his 10¹/2-year-old daughter Joanna has remained a constant driving force.

As he prepares to empty his home of most of his life’s work, Becnel has been thinking about what’s next for him as an artist.

He said Caravaggio, a controversial 16th century painter of religious themes, comes to mind.

Becnel feels that any artist worth his weight in paint models himself after and learns from the lessons of another artist.

He said he believes that Caravaggio had something important to say and something that was meant for all to see, like it or not.

Though he knows it won’t please all of those whose lives he touches, Becnel’s next genre will be interpretation of the Bible’s New Testament.

The risk, Becnel feels, is worth the ultimate cause.

"What do I want to accomplish?" Becnel asked himself. "I want to capture a moment. A moment that no one else has captured, or perhaps ever even thought about."