Francis Hoyland - Holy communion predella

1 Corinthians 11:23–26

Hoyland’s central image shows a priest celebrating Communion in a Gloucester church. The image on the far left shows the birth of Hoyland’s youngest son at his home, with the midwife and the father standing in front of a cot; the second image from the left shows the baptism of his eldest son in the same Gloucester church; the second scene from the right shows the Hoyland family eating an al fresco tea ; while the right-hand scene takes the personal odyssey from birth to death with the artist’s father, John Hoyland, a well-known Quaker leader and writer, on his death bed at home, attended by his son, and other family members and a nurse.

Commentary based on A Guide to the Methodist Art Collection.