Tiffany Stained Glass Window: Autumn Landscape

A tour de for of its medium, this window, executed late in Tiffany’s career, portrays the late afternoon sun filtered through a rich autumnal foliage. It was probably designed by Agnes Northrop (1857 – 1953), who was known especially for her landscapes and flowers.

No paint was used to add detail; rather, the modeling, texture and form were created solely with glass, using the full range developed at Tiffany Studios. The variegated surface was made by wrinkling glass it its molten state. Different color effects were achieved by embedding tiny, confetti-like flakes of glass in the surface. Plating – the superimposition of several layers of glass on the back of the window – added depth.

Although commissioned in 1923 by Loren D. Towle for the stair landing of his enormous neo-Gothic mansion in Boston, the window was never installed. In 1925, Robert W. de Forest, Tiffany’s close friend, donated the window to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he was president and founder of the American Wing.