The Altar Painting and Reredos

Located at the front of the church, the altar painting (1872; layered oil on canvas with gold gilt) depicts Jesus in the act of administering bread and wine to male and female communicants.  This is one of the most visible and iconic pieces of Oertel's art at the church.

The altar painting is situated within "an elaborate carved gothic frame," as Oertel states in a letter dated January 25, 1873.  The official name for this complex frame and painting is reredos, a word that refers to an altarpiece, a screen or decoration behind the altar in a church that often includes religious images.

The reredos consists of four hundred carved pieces of chestnut, oak, poplar, holly, cherry, beech, and pine. Although Oertel was known for his carvings, this was his first undertaking of a reredos. The pieces were often carved during his many missionary trips to Happy Valley (Chapel of Rest) and Whitnel (Chapel of Peace). The architectural design is the Gothic Perpendicular style from the 14th to 16th centuries, featuring feathered arches and spandrels, and much open carved work. While Oertel carved other reredos and altar rails for churches from New York City to eastern Tennessee, the reredos at St. James is considered the most impressive.