Detroit artist honors late Msgr. Daniel Trapp with portrait capturing his spirit

Artist Inez Brown only met Msgr. Trapp once, but was touched by the warmth, holiness he showed to everyone he met

DETROIT — A new portrait of the late Msgr. Daniel Trapp made by a local Detroit artist currently sits in the sanctuary of the east-side Detroit parish where he served, a reminder of the impact the deeply missed pastor had on both his parish and the surrounding community.

The portrait, a black-and-white charcoal image of Msgr. Trapp’s face, haloed by gold leaf, was made by Detroit artist Inez Brown, who, although she only met Msgr. Trapp one time, says he stood out for his warmth and kindness, attributes parishioners of St. Augustine and St. Monica Parish say Brown captured perfectly.

Msgr. Trapp passed away at age 66 on Jan. 26 after a brief illness. He had been a priest for 39 years.

Brown says parishioner Arlene Hunter invited her to participate as a vendor at the parish’s annual ”Jazz on the Lawn” in the summer of 2023.

“Msgr. Trapp gave me and another woman a personal tour (of the church) and explained some of the symbolism of the church,” Brown told Detroit Catholic. “And he just came across as a warm person, a warm soul, and I was really impressed with him.”

Brown said Hunter commissioned her to make two portraits of Msgr. Trapp and gave her the image of Msgr. Trapp from his funeral program as a reference. Brown said she agreed to do both free of charge as a gift to the parish, one which she completed and gave to the parish within a few weeks of his passing, and the other which she said she will complete once her busy summer art fair season ends.

“I really wanted to do it because I know how much he meant to the church, and I wanted to capture his image the best that I could to make everybody happy,” Brown said.

Brown said the portrait took her about a day to complete, with an additional day to varnish and dry in order to ensure that it is long-lasting.

The parish’s response was extremely positive, Hunter told Detroit Catholic. Brown said she was thrilled by the response — from her brief interaction with Msgr. Trapp, she could tell his parishioners cared for him deeply, and he reciprocated.

“I was so happy because you really want to capture the essence of an individual,” Brown explained. “When you do a portrait, sometimes you don’t always capture what the person represents. I wanted to capture the spirit of the person.”

Brown is a non-denominational Christian and goes to “all churches” — wherever she can hear the word of God proclaimed.

“I take the word in wherever I can get it, and when I see a person who I feel really represents the image of what God wants us to be, I am drawn to that, and I think I can say that about Msgr. Trapp,” Brown said. “I think he really represented that special spirit within the soul of man that is reaching out to people to hear the Word, which always impresses me. And that’s how he came across to me, as a person who really was a loving man and cared about people and wanted to share the word.”

The portrait will be on display at St. Augustine and St. Monica Parish for the time being. For more information about Inez Brown, visit her website.