{"id":28568,"date":"2025-11-08T11:22:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T11:22:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/28568\/"},"modified":"2025-11-08T11:22:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T11:22:07","slug":"christmas-in-bethlehem-which-illuminates-the-art-of-frank-wyso-wysochansky-set-for-display","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/28568\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Christmas in Bethlehem,’ which illuminates the art of Frank ‘Wyso’ Wysochansky, set for display"},"content":{"rendered":"

BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2014 The spirit of Christmas, as seen through the eyes of late artist Frank “Wyso” Wysochansky, will fill Bethlehem Town Hall’s Rotunda Gallery beginning this weekend. <\/p>\n

\u201cChristmas in Bethlehem,\u201d a posthumous collection of paintings and drawings by Wysochansky, is presented by Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.<\/p>\n

An opening reception will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9, with a gallery talk by the exhibition’s curator, Steven J. Lichak. <\/p>\n

Lichak is the founder of the WYSO Foundation,<\/a> a nonprofit dedicated to preserving Wysochanksky’s estimated 5,000 works. <\/p>\n

The collection will be on display through Dec. 19 at the gallery, at 10 East Church St. <\/p>\n

\"Frank<\/p>\n

Contributed <\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

WYSO Foundation<\/p>\n

The”Christmas in Bethlehem” exhibition will feature drawings and paintings by late artist Frank “Wyso” Wysochansky inspired by his family. <\/p>\n

A voice for the working class<\/p>\n

Wysochansky, who was born in 1915 in Blakely to Ukrainian immigrant parents, passed away in 1994.<\/p>\n

Though he left school after seventh grade, he became a self-taught artist. <\/p>\n

A son of a coal miner (his father, Joseph, was killed in a tragic mining accident when he was 21 years old), Wyso’s first job was a freelance cartoonist for the “United Mine Workers Journal” \u2014 a position he held 1946-69. <\/p>\n

His artistry expanded as he began to experiment with different materials \u2014 watercolors, crayons and ink. <\/p>\n

He is known for his multimedia paintings and drawings \u2014 along with sculptures \u2014 that explore themes such as mining and miners’ lives, religious subjects and scenes from the Lehigh Valley and Northerneastern Pennsylvania. <\/p>\n

The WYSO Foundation<\/p>\n

Lichak, who was chosen a 2025 Tribute to the Arts<\/a> honoree by the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission, was a friend of Wysochansky and his brother, retired the Rev. Walter Wysochansky. <\/p>\n

After Wyso’s passing, it was Walter Wysochansky \u2014 along with Wyso’s 11 siblings \u2014 who suggested to Lichak, senior producer at Lehigh University\u2019s Library and Technology Services, that he catalog their brother’s pieces. <\/p>\n

Since then, the foundation has organized more than 20 exhibitions showcasing Wysochanksy’s works. <\/p>\n

“Christmas in Bethlehem” will feature some of Wyso’s winter scenes and art inspired by his family and their Ukrainian Christmas traditions. <\/p>\n

The Rotunda Gallery is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2014 The spirit of Christmas, as seen through the eyes of late artist Frank “Wyso” Wysochansky,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28569,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154,18490,18491,18492,18493,18494,18495],"class_list":["post-28568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news","tag-christmas-in-bethlehem-art-display","tag-frank-wyso-wysochansky-art","tag-frank-wyso-wysochansky-art-display-bethlehem","tag-frank-wyso-wysochansky-display","tag-wysos-christmas-bethlehem","tag-wysos-christmas-lehigh-valley-art-display"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28568\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}