Drawings for American Stained Glass
May 17, 2010 - December 31, 2010
Rakow Research Library
Window Design of Abstract Landscape with Longhorn Cattle and Plants, Peter Appleton, Ridgewood, NJ, 20th century
Window Design of Kneeling Sir Galahad,
Judson Studios, Los Angeles, CA, about 1909.
The library display showcases 19th- and 20th-century designs from studios and artists across the United States and illustrates the great diversity in style and subject matter in modern American stained glass. It also demonstrates how stained glass artists and designers used regional subject matter and uniquely American themes to make the art form their own.
American stained glass drawings continue the long history of the medium in both style and function. As suggested by archaeological evidence, painting on window glass began as early as the sixth century and possibly earlier, during Roman times. True stained glass windows, where glass is colored through the application of silver sulfide or silver chloride then fired and pieced together, became popular during the Middle Ages, illustrating Bible stories for a largely illiterate society. Advances in architecture allowed windows to take up vast expanses of cathedral walls, dazzling the eye with rich colors and abundant light.
The medieval tradition of using stained glass for Biblical storytelling is reflected in some modern American stained glass designs, such as the four-panel series, Window Designs for Days of Creation, produced by Gorham Studios in the 19th or early 20th century, which illustrates a selection from the Book of Genesis.
Stained glass continued to illustrate religious stories in the Renaissance, but during this time they increasingly began to embrace secular themes as the expanding middle class allowed those outside the clergy to afford them for public buildings and private homes. The use of stained glass windows for non-religious purposes continued into the modern era, as seen in the exhibition’s drawing, Window Design of Kneeling Sir Galahad, by Judson Studios (1909).
Stained glass also became more decorative in the modern era, exemplified by American artist La Farge’s watercolor and pencil drawing, Fruit and Shells (1882 – 1885), which features natural motifs such as grapes and a scallop shell arabesque. La Farge, along with Louis Comfort Tiffany, introduced the style of opalescent glass, which became popular in stained glass window designs of the late 19th century. During this period, designers increasingly turned to secular themes and began to focus on the intrinsic qualities of glass itself.
Purely abstract stained glass designs grew in popularity during the 20th century. A prominent example of an abstract stained glass window is Robert Sowers’ design for American Airlines terminal 8 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, installed in 1960 (dismantled in 2008 during renovations). The window’s blend of red, blue, white, and purple panels was intended to suggest movement and power and was, as terminal architect Robert Allan Jacobs described it, “the practical working symbol of the Jet Age, combining the aesthetic and functional expression of aviation progress.” The Rakow’s exhibit includes both a small-scale design of the window, possibly intended for use on an airport model, as well as a larger, more precise iteration of the design.
In the United States, 20th century stained glass designs also began to illustrate uniquely American themes, including the lives of New World saints and missionaries (Emil Zundel’s Panel Design of Religious Figure preaching to Native Americans the colonization of the Western Hemisphere (Peter Appleton’s English Settlers Land in Maryland), and the native peoples of the New World (Peter Appleton’s Father White: First Mass Celebrated in America).
Drawings for American Stained Glass, which features 16 drawings and one full-size, 16 foot-long cartoon reproduction, was curated by a team of library staff. The exhibition is on view in the Reading Room of the Library, which is open to the public, free of charge, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m.
Model of mosaic on American Airlines terminal window at JFK airport, Robert Sowers,
probably United States, about 1945-1960.