Edward Catich

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Fr. Edward Catich (1906-1979) was well known as an author, stone-cutter, calligrapher, photographer, musician, liturgical artist, historian, lecturer and Roman Catholic priest.

[edit] Life and career

He was born in Stevensville, Montana, and reared in Butte, Montana. His Croatian father, a copper miner, died young as did his mother. At the age of 11, he and his three brothers were taken in by the Loyal Order of the Moose, Mooseheart, in Aurora, Illinois. Following a sign-writing apprenticeship under Walter Heberling at the orphanage, he worked as a union sign-writer in Chicago, where he also attended the Chicago Art Institute for three-and-a-half years.

Catich arrived at St. Ambrose College in 1931 and worked as the leader of the school band. He graduated in 1934 and went on to receive a graduate degree in art from the University of Iowa. He then went to Rome to study for the priesthood. During four years (1935-1939) of intensive paleographic and epigraphic research, he saw and formulated the kinesthetic linkage between the inscription letter-making of Imperial Rome and his own familiar Chicago sign writing.

He was ordained in 1938. After returning to the United States, Catich began teaching at St. Ambrose, created the art department, and taught for the next 40 years.

[edit] Notable works

As part of his term as calligraphic consultant for Encyclopedia Britannica, Catich designed their corporate identity symbol. He also worked as staff consultant for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and a consultant for architectural firms.

His alphabet stones and other lettering work have been displayed in institutions throughout the country. His work can be found as a permanent part of the collection at Encyclopedia Britannica's corporate headquarters, Reed College, Morton Arboretum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Harvard College, and the Catich Gallery of St. Ambrose University.