Good Shepherd and Landscape, 1909
This window was made by Tiffany Studios in 1909 for the chapel at Stony Wold Sanatorium in Lake Kushaqua, New York. Stony Wold, founded by Mrs. James Edward Newcomb in 1901, was established to provide early treatment for tuberculosis for working women and children from New York City. The window was donated by Mrs. Walter Geer in memory of her sister, Miss Martha Potter.
The Good Shepherd, depicting Jesus tending his flock, was a popular subject in stained-glass windows: a 1910 Tiffany Studios catalogue lists seventy-three variants on the theme. This particular window is attributed to Frederick Wilson (1858-1932), one of Tiffany Studios' foremost designers.
Photo courtesy of the New-York Historical Society.
A variety of glass was used in the fabrication of this window to achieve realistic, natural effects: mottled glass depicts the glint of sunlight on the green foliage; ripple glass was used to fill out the wooly coats of the sheep; drapery glass captured the three-dimensional effects of shadow and light on the folds of the fabric; distance and shadow were created through layering multiple pieces of glass. Details and expression in the flesh areas (Jesus' face, hands, and feet and the faces of the sheep) were achieved through the traditional method of vitreous enamel on glass.
Stony Wold's Good Shepherd window contains the most extensive landscape design of all the known versions produced by Tiffany Studios. The long, horizontal composition complimented the architecture of the chapel and the countryside near Lake Kushaqua may have served as inspiration for the window's setting.
Photo courtesy of the New-York Historical Society.
The three panels on the left, depicting Jesus and his flock, are part of the Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass; the last two landscape panels are in the collection of the New-York Historical Society. The panels are displayed together at the New-York Historical Society for the first time since they were removed from the Stony Wold chapel.
