Emil Glocar: Priest and Painter (1906-1985)

St. Petersburg.

Oil Painting.

Trees in Winter

Oil on Board. 1980.

Emilion “Emil” Glocar was born July 11, 1906 in Lukavice Moravia (previous region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time; classified as region of the Czech Republic today). His parents both passed by the time he was 11, so he was left to live with his brother at a relative’s near Zagreb in Croatia. Glocar was originally baptized and raised in the Roman Catholic faith but converted to holy orthodoxy under Bishop Gorazd of Czechoslovakia, with his parents passing. Glocar went on to study orthodox theology at the seminary in Sarjevo, Yugoslavia. Preceding his education at the seminary and a short time working as a religion teacher in Prague and Pilsen, Glocar returned to school studying Slavie Literature at Carlo University in Prague, Czechoslovakia. He received his PhD in theology in 1932, finishing up his schooling at Belgrade University.  

In 1930, Glocar had an arranged marriage with Bosilijka Parlaceva, and was also ordained into the holy priesthood. His first parish was in a very small village in Srem, Yugoslavia, which faced a destructive flood in 1932. This event led Glocar to write a book about the flood, “Od Jara do Jara” which went on to win best Czechoslovakian novel in 1937. After getting reassigned to a new parish in Vojvodina, Glocar became an active member in the “bogomolijack pokret”, a religious movement by those who pray to God as a voluntary association. Glocar was heavily involved and was seen as a leader, partaking in speaking and writing for the group. However, the movement was not accepted by all in the church, as concerns were there with how the evangelical customs might change the Serbian Orthodox Church. Due to the church’s conflicted feelings surrounding Glocar’s role in the movement, he was fundamentally exiled from Yugoslavia to the US with his family in May of 1939. In hindsight, Glocar’s uprooting was for the best, as four months after WWII began, Germany began occupying Yugoslavia. 

Glocar got placed in the St. Silvia Serbian Orthodox Church in Cleveland, Ohio, and quickly learned English. He continued writing and publishing novels once in the US as well. Glocar worked extensively on international relief for the people in Yugoslavia and was a member of the counsel for Yugoslavia War Relief. Glocar’s support of the Yugoslavian people caused him a lot of ridicule from some people in the church and calls for his removal. The criticism and stress from the church might have been the spark for Glocar to start painting. Following this event, Glocar began art instruction classes at the Akron Institute of Art for the next five years. He began showcasing his work throughout the area and gained some traction in his city. During this time he was still struggling with the courts to obtain his citizenship. He finally received it in 1960, but was still being criticized by church members, leading to his removal as the priest of his church in 1962.  

Sunset

Oil Painting. 1972.

Venice

Oil Painting. 1978.

After a year of unemployment, Glocar finally got offered a job in November of 1963 to be a pastor in rural Wisconsin, residing over two small parishes. Glocar moved to Lublin, Wisconsin by himself, while his family remained in Ohio. Glocar turned his housing into a studio and returned to working on his art, entering competitions and winning awards. While working as a priest, he also began teaching art, where students' skills grew immensely under his lessons. Glocar’s art career really started to take off after his move to Wisconsin. He had created over 200 paintings and ten religious icons for churches in less than a year. After countless awards and opportunities, including a one-man exhibition at UW-Wausau in 1964, painting icons for churches across WI in his own style, winning the Andrew Clark Memorial award in 1965, and getting honored as the subject of Prague University’s 60th Anniversary Celebration to highlight his accomplishments as an author of Czechoslovakian literature in 1966, Glocar left his priest jobs in Lublin and moved to Eau Claire, Wisconsin in 1966. There he rented a studio on 4 South Barstow Street above the South Bank Gallery.  

In Eau Claire, Glocar created even more art, both teaching and exhibiting his work even more widely than before. He also did oil painting demonstrations, highlighting his specific style that was full of color, unique textures from pallet knives, and quick and bold strokes. He fully leaned into his painting, creating over 200 to 300 paintings a year. He had several shows at St. Thomas University in St. Paul Minnesota with upwards of 100 pieces in each show. Additionally, he was honored at Battle Creek, Michigan, and was revered for his teaching. He also decided to leave writing behind for the following reasons “It has too many limitations. It seldom leaves the reader to form his own image, so I closed the door on my writings” (Interview with Angie Casper for the Chippewa Herald Telegram). As Glocar got older, facing more health troubles as well as issues with renting his Barstow apartment, he moved to St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery in Libertyville, Illinois in 1983. He still had some exhibitions of his paintings in Madison, Wisconsin during this time. In 1985, Glocar passed due to a heart attack and was buried in the cemetary at St. Sava Orthodox Monastery.  

“What can you say about an old man with an ugly story and an obsession about city lights and people and a heart that is never quiet when it pulses to the rhythm of the brush” (Glocar, 1982).