The mission of Crossnore Communities for Children is to grow healthy futures for children and families by providing a Christian sanctuary of hope and healing.
This mission is captured in the powerful masterpiece Suffer the Little Children, Ben Long’s rendering of Mark 10:14, “Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not; for such is the kingdom of God.”
The Ben Long fresco is located in the E.H. Sloop Chapel and is open for viewings daily from 8:30 am–5:00 pm.
The ancient art of fresco is the masterful combination of the artist’s hand, lime, sand, water, and pigment to form luminous, permanent images. One of only four master fresco artists in the world, Benjamin F. Long, IV was born in Texas in 1945 and grew up in Statesville, North Carolina.
Long studied at UNC-Chapel Hill and at the Art Student’s League in New York. He later traveled to Italy where he served as an apprentice to Maestro Pietro Annigoni. He has since achieved international fame as a master of true fresco, drawing, and oil painting.
His excellence in fresco painting has resulted in worldwide commissions, including those in France, Italy, and several sites throughout North Carolina, many of which compose the Benjamin F. Long Fresco Trail.
