Utica, New York — Meyda Tiffany Lighting is sponsoring In Company with Angels: Seven Rediscovered Tiffany Windows, an exhibition of stained glass angels created in 1902 in the renowned studios of one of the most illustrious designers of the early 20th century, Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933). The exhibit opened recently in the Museum of Art, at the Munson-Williams Proctor Arts Institute in Utica, New York, and will run through January 4, 2015. (For more information about MWPAI and the exhibit, visit the website.)
Made to grace a Swedenborgian church in Cincinnati, Ohio, the rare windows were displaced when the church was razed in 1964 for highway construction. Stored in crates, the eight-foot-tall windows were moved from Ohio to Pennsylvania and remained in parishioners’ garages, basements, and a barn for nearly 40 years. A newly assigned minister opened the mysterious unmarked crates in 2001. Stunned by what she discovered, she called a stained-glass expert who recognized Tiffany’s characteristic opalescent glass, designs, and techniques, despite decades of grime. Church archives confirmed the attribution, and restoration of the angel windows began in 2004. Cleaning of the last window revealed Tiffany’s signature and In Company with Angels, Inc., a nonprofit organization, was formed to preserve and exhibit the windows. Given that an estimated 50 percent of Tiffany studios’ church window production does not survive, rediscoveries – especially of a series such as the Seven Angels – is a significant event in the history of American glass.
The eight-foot-tall windows feature the hallmark of Tiffany’s artworks, opulent jewel-toned and richly colored iridescent glass, called Favrile. Tiffany and his designers created unparalleled dramatic visual effects through the use of color and light, in a variety of materials. In addition to the back-lit windows, the exhibition will feature a range of decorative arts created in Tiffany’s studios – colorful lamps, vases, ceramics, enamels, metalwork, and furniture – drawn from the Museum’s permanent collection and select loans. A special display will illustrate how intricate stained glass masterpieces are created.
About Meyda Tiffany Lighting
Meyda Tiffany Lighting is the nation’s leading manufacturer and designer of custom and decorative lighting and Tiffany lamps. Founded in 1974, the firm’s roots date back to the early 1900s supplying Tiffany Studios with lighting original products, including the original Coca-Cola stained glass fixtures.