"The Holy Family", a massive six-by-eight-foot copy of Bartolome Murillo’s original work, will be returned to its place in St. Matthew’s Cathedral sanctuary Feb. 21 after 18 months of restoration. The painting, also known as "The Virgin of Seville", was purchased in 1873 by Mary Adams Bulkley, a New York resident visiting Europe when she bought the piece. When she died in 1900, she bequeathed the painting to Bishop Alexander Garrett of Dallas, and it hung in a drawing room of St. Mary’s College for Girls, which was formerly on the cathedral’s current property. When the cathedral moved to its spot on Ross Avenue in 1929, the painting moved along with the congregation. Murillo’s original painting hangs in the Louvre in Paris. The restored piece will be unveiled at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 21, during the cathedral’s service.
