The Metropolitan Museum of Art has acquired a historic stained-glass window by Tiffany. The three-part Garden Landscape window (1912) was commissioned by the philanthropist Sarah B. Cochran—a coal industry leader nicknamed the “Coal Queen”—for her Pennsylvania Tudor-Revival estate, Linden Hall. The conception, commissioning, and crafting of the window were all done by women, a rare statement for work of its age.
The window was designed by Agnes Northrop, one of Tiffany’s key female designers. Northrop began working for Tiffany & Co. during the 1880s, and became the head of the group of “Tiffany Girls” female designers. The design, made of leaded Favrile glass—a type of iridescent glass developed by Tiffany—is reminiscent of Linden Hall’s own garden. Northrop was the first designer at Tiffanys to create stained-glass landscapes and her exploration of light through opalescent stained-glass was inspired by the American Impressionists.
The window was created at the studios of Louis Comfort Tiffany—the son of Charles Lewis Tiffany who founded Tiffany & Co. in 1837—who became the company’s first official design director following his father’s death in 1902. Tiffany put the window on public display in the corner of 37th Street and Fifth Avenue New York flagship showroom before it was sent to Cochran.
“This stunning work of art is an extraordinary example of the transformational creativity of Agnes Northrop and Tiffany Studios,” said the museum’s director and CEO, Max Hollein, in a statement. “Magnificent in concept and execution and more than grand in size, it deepens the American Wing’s Tiffany holdings and will enhance the already stunning Engelhard Court with a powerful, immersive viewing experience.”
Agnes Northrop, Design for Tiffany Garden Landscape Window (1912). Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Already in the collection of the New York museum is the design drawing for the central panel of the window.
The window will be installed for public viewing in the Charles Engelhard Court in November 2024, as part of the celebrations for the American Wing’s centennial. The American Wing was opened in 1924 to house examples of American domestic art made between the 17th and early 19th centuries.
Sylvia Yount, the curator in charge of the Met’s American Wing said: “Northrop’s remarkable environmental work further strengthens our representation of women artists in the American Wing and allows us to share broader stories of early 20th-century culture with our visitors.”
See more images of the window below.
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