About this artwork
Presenting a soaring vista of an idealized view of Mount Chocorua, New Hampshire, the Hartwell Memorial Window is among the most complex stained-glass landscapes produced in the United States. Commissioned by Mary Hartwell as a memorial in honor of her husband Frederick for the Central Baptist Church of Providence, Rhode Island (now Community Church of Providence), the majestic scene was inspired by the view from his family home. Agnes F. Northrop designed the window at the height of her five-decade-long career at Tiffany Studios. She specialized in intricate landscapes and worked with a team of experts to realize the 25-foot-high window, which is made up of 48 individual panels. In order to achieve highly natural effects, artists used a kaleidoscopic variety of glass types, some of which are built up two to five layers thick.
The Hartwell Memorial Window remained housed in the sanctuary of the Community Church of Providence until 2018, when the congregation decided to relocate it to the Art Institute of Chicago, where it could be conserved to ensure its long-term stability and remain on public view. This majestic work is currently installed at the top of the Woman’s Board Grand Staircase, thanks to novel approaches to the window’s mounting, framing, and lighting.
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Status
- On View, Gallery 200
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Department
- Arts of the Americas
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Artists
- Tiffany Studios (Firm) (Manufacturer) , Agnes F. Northrop (Designer) , Louis Comfort Tiffany (Manufacturer)
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Title
- Hartwell Memorial Window
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Places
- New York (Object made in), Providence (Object made for), Corona (Object made in), United States (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- 1917
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Medium
- Leaded glass
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Inscriptions
- Inscribed across lower lancets: My help / cometh from / the Lord who / made heaven / and earth Signed lower right (above “made heaven”): Tiffany Studios / New York 1917
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Dimensions
- 798.7 × 554.7 × 42.5 cm (314 7/16 × 218 3/8 × 16 3/4 in.)
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Credit Line
- Purchased with funds provided by the Antiquarian Society, the Chauncey and Marion Deering McCormick Family Foundation, and Ann and Samuel M. Mencoff; through prior gift of the George F. Harding Collection; Roger and J. Peter McCormick Endowment Fund; American Art Sales Proceeds, Discretionary, and Purchase funds; Jane and Morris Weeden Endowment Fund; Mary Swissler Oldberg Fund; purchased with funds provided by the Davee Foundation, Pamela R. Conant in memory of Louis John Conant, Stephanie Field Harris, the Komarek-Hyde-Soskin Foundation, and Jane Woldenberg; gifts in memory of John H. Bryan, Jr.; Wesley M. Dixon, Jr. Endowment Fund; through prior gift of the Friends of American Art Collection and Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson; purchased with funds provided by Jamee J. and Marshall Field, Roxelyn and Richard Pepper, and an anonymous donor; Goodman Endowment Fund; purchased with funds provided by Abbie Helene Roth and Daniel Jesse Roth in memory of Sandra Gladstone Roth, Henry and Gilda Buchbinder Family in memory of John H. Bryan, Jr., Suzanne Hammond and Richard Leftwich, Maureen Tokar in memory of Edward Tokar, Bonnie and Frank X. Henke, III, Erica C. Meyer, Joseph P. Gromacki in memory of John H. Bryan, Jr., Louise Ingersoll Tausché, Mrs. Robert O. Levitt, Christopher and Sara Pfaff, Charles L. and Patricia A. Swisher, Abby and Don Funk, Kim and Andy Stephens, and Dorothy J. Vance; B. F. Ferguson Fund; Jay W. McGreevy, Dr. Julian Archie, Mr. and Mrs. John W. Puth, and Kate S. Buckingham endowment funds
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Reference Number
- 2018.121
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
