The Saint George Image Collection of Cornelia Steketee Hulst is a compilation of approximately 154 images depicting Saint George through a variety of mediums, including statues, paintings, political cartoons, and others collected throughout the early 20th century. The collection contains photographs and ephemera that have been mounted on heavy cardboard.
The paintings series includes photographs of paintings, altar pieces, and frescoes. While the sculptures series contains photographs of free-standing statues depicting St. George.
The architecture series contains photographs of the facades of buildings into which Saint George is incorporated. A set of photographs depicting Saint George within stain glass windows is included in the architecture series. The prints series includes engravings and etchings found in books but also political cartoons. The realia series contains stamps and drawings of medallions upon which Saint George is depicted. A series of postcards depicting Saint George in statues, artwork, and architecture are included in the ephemera series.
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Cornelia Steketee Hulst (1865-1957) was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1865 to Dutch immigrant parents and raised as a Dutch Calvinist. Not much is known about her early life. She was a teacher in Grand Rapids, MI, and in 1913 she was elected unanimously as the president of the Michigan State Teachers’ Association, which is now the Michigan Education Association (Journal of Education, p. 645). Hulst was the first female president of this organization (ibid.). She exhibited a great interest in ancient myths and mythology, writing books on the subject of Perseus and poetry based upon Nordic mythology.
Hulst’s book, St. George of Cappadocia in Legend and History(1909), was the result of her fascination with the saint and depictions of him in art. The book began to take shape after she came to the realization that sources about the saint were diverse and scattered around the world. She was also one of the earliest scholars to attempt to compile the numerous legends, myths, and deeds of Saint George and describe the shaping of his story as it was disseminated around the world. Hulst’s study of the history of Saint George resulted in her collection, which the Visual Resources Collections at the University of Michigan now holds. Her personal papers can be found at the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan.
