S otheby’s is honored to present the Danner Memorial Window by Tiffany Studios as a centerpiece of our fall marquee auction series. Appearing in public view for the first time in over two decades, this landmark offering represents the most significant leaded glass window by Tiffany Studios ever to appear at auction. The Danner Memorial Window comes from the esteemed collection of Alan Gerry, a prominent American businessman and philanthropist whose influence resonates through the cultural and entertainment sectors.
The window’s aspirational scale and glorious composition envelop the viewer in an idyllic landscape, featuring flourishing fruit-laden trees on the banks of a winding, flowing river set against a sunset sky. On the river bank, the last moments of sun dapple on a brilliant field of red poppies. The painterly effects of its glass selection rival the foremost works of the Impressionist masters in its ability to capture the true essence of light and color.
In both complexity and artistry, the Danner Memorial Window ranks among Tiffany’s greatest achievements in leaded glass - in the same elite group as the Linden Hall Windows and Autumn Landscape Window (both in the permanent collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art); the Russell Sage Memorial Window (First Presbyterian Church of Far Rockaway, New York); the Helen Gould Window (private collection); and the Hartwell Memorial Window (The Art Institute of Chicago). The Danner Memorial Window was designed by Agnes Northrop, who in the 1880s quickly established herself as one of Tiffany’s most trusted artists and leading window designer. Northrop’s achievements include many of Tiffany’s most famous leaded glass windows, and she holds a renowned legacy as one of the premier artists and glass designers in a field traditionally dominated by men.
The present masterpiece offers collectors and connoisseurs a rare opportunity to acquire one of Tiffany Studios’ finest works. Created at the apex of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s and Agnes Northrop’s artistic careers, the Danner Memorial Window is a brilliant encapsulation of their supreme talents, and a testament to Tiffany Studios’ prime position within the canon of twentieth-century art.
Louis Comfort Tiffany
The Danner Memorial Window
Louis Comfort Tiffany’s leaded glass windows first appeared in 1880 and, within a remarkably short time span, these unique works became objects of world renown and a source of national pride. His brilliant design and marketing expertise partially explain this meteoric success. Another reason was the creation of his own glasshouse in 1892, a facility that could create an almost infinite variety of his trademarked transparent and opalescent sheet glass. Equally important was Tiffany’s expressed belief that women were superior to men in determining color and tone. Agnes Fairchild Northrop (1857-1953) epitomized this conviction and she, together with Louis Comfort Tiffany, were responsible for making the masterwork that is the Danner Memorial window.
Born in Flushing, New York and with no known formal artistic training, Agnes Northrop was introduced in 1884 to Anne Van Derlip – at that time Tiffany’s only female employee. Northrop, after presenting a few drawings, was immediately hired as a window designer, a position she maintained with the company for over five decades. She later wrote that “…with her [Van Derlip’s] help and Mr. Tiffany’s daily criticisms, I managed to make a place for myself in flowers and landscapes (I do not do figures).” Northrop did much more than merely “manage,” as demonstrated by her being awarded a treasured silver medal for stained glass at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. Northrup’s notable legacy is now immortalized as she was responsible for designing many of Tiffany’s most famous windows, including the Linden Hall windows and Autumn Landscape window, both in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York); the Russell Sage Memorial window (Far Rockaway, New York); the Helen Gould window (private collection), and the Hartwell Memorial window in the Art Institute of Chicago. The magnificent Danner Memorial window can be favorably compared with all of the aforementioned.
"I have always striven to fix beauty in wood, stone, glass or pottery, in oil or watercolor by using whatever seemed fittest for the expression of beauty, that has been my creed."
Northrop designed in 1903 a memorial window to her father, Allen P. Northrop, for the Reformed Church of Flushing (New York). That “Tree of Life” window, with an orange-fruited tree among stylized flowers in the foreground and a meandering river originating from a distant mountain range, likely served as a thematic precursor to the far more complex Danner window created 10 years later. John and Terressa Danner were founding members of the First Baptist Church in Canton, Ohio. The congregation decided to honor their fifty years of devoted service with a memorial window from Tiffany Studios for the church’s new building that was dedicated in November 1913. It was highly unusual for a memorial to be created for living celebrants, but as John was 90 years old and Terressa 85 at the time, the window offers a beautiful reminder of lives well lived.
The viewer is struck at first glance by the picturesque and restful landscape. As was the case with most of Tiffany’s ecclesiastical windows, this one also contains many symbolic references. The winding river flowing through a mountain valley signifies the gentle passage of a long and serene life. The field of poppies in the right foreground suggest hope for a peaceful future and remembrance of those who have passed away. The focal points of the window are four flourishing apple trees on the banks of the river set against a sunset sky turning to dusk. With fruit-laden intertwined branches among mottled green leaves, the trees symbolize the mutual love that the Danners had for each other as well as good health and future happiness.
Tiffany leaded glass windows have achieved an iconic position in the annals of American art history. They were comprised with a revolutionary new type of glass created from secret chemical formulas. And with the aid of gifted designers like Agnes Northrop, the company introduced the radical concept that religious memorials depicting landscapes glorified God’s glory just as well, if not better, than saintly figures. The Danner window, created at the height of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s and Agnes Northrop’s artistic careers, is a brilliant encapsulation of their supreme talents.
–Paul Doros
In advance of the Modern Marquee auction, a unique installation of The Danner Memorial window at partial scale will be on view in Sotheby’s international galleries in London, Paris, Hong Kong, and Dubai.
