Sister Wendy Beckett, who has died aged 88, could be dismissive of the high-profile television work that made this hermit nun with owl-like glasses into an unlikely household name during the 1990s. Sister Wendy, a clever and perceptive woman, was herself aware of the contradiction and struggled to square the circle, some times more successfully than others. Sister Wendy herself said she was bemused but not displeased by the accolade. After Sister Wendy’s American Collection and Sister Wendy at the Norton Simon Museum had made her name with US TV viewers in 2001-02, she declined any further offers. Behind her gentle, toothy smile, though, Sister Wendy could be fierce.

Source: The Guardian December 26, 2018 18:11 UTC