Love is Hard Work: The Art and Heart of Corita Kent

The story of how a Catholic nun became one of the twentieth century’s most significant artists and activists is brought to life in a colorful picture book biography.

“To be fully alive is to work for the common good.” —Corita Kent

Frances Kent always loved making things. When she joined the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, she took the name Corita—meaning little heart—and devoted her life to what mattered most to her: art and religion. As an art teacher, Sister Corita emphasized practice and process over the final product and taught her students to experiment and break the rules. As a religious person, she turned her faith into concrete action and spoke out about the injustices she saw in the world. In the height of post-war consumerist culture, Corita, a contemporary of Andy Warhol, turned advertising on its head and wrote a new kind of scripture. Complimented by Victoria Tentler-Krylov’s vibrant illustrations that—like Corita’s work—incorporate typography and ads, author Dan Paley paints a portrait of the little-known but immensely influential pop-art nun whose messages are just as relevant today as they were in years past.