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A 14-page story I wrote about my Dad, Gilbert DeMille, who posed for a famous holy picture as a kid.
$5.00
Excerpt
When he was four years old in 1920, my father was chosen to pose for what was to become one of the most famous and numinous pictures of Jesus ever made, “The Light of the World”, by C. Bosseron Chambers (1884-1964), a well-known American painter of religious art.
Dad did not come by this role through a modeling agency, but because his father, Victor deMilliano, was the caretaker of St. Ignatius Church in Chicago, home to the original painting from which this print was taken. Grandpa’s job provided his family a two bedroom apartment on the Church grounds bringing them in close contact with the nuns who lived in the convent right next door. When the Church commissioned Mr. Chambers to do paintings for the altar, Mother Francis Xavier recommended Dad with his cherubic face and curly hair, to pose for the Christ Child. There was no modeling fee involved. His selection was deemed a high honor, one which later earned him the starring role in the Church’s Nativity play....
The story is about Dad and how his life unfolded after that momentous event and includes lots of family pictures of Dad as well as photos of some C. Bosseron Chambers' works, from my own extensive collection. This is a fun, highly personal, biographical story that may be of interest to fans of this famous picture. $5.00
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