News

New Windows Installed at Westminster Abbey

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Her Majesty The Queen on 2 June 2013, the church where she was crowned, Westminster Abbey, has had two new stained-glass windows commissioned and installed.  The two new windows have been installed in the Henry VII Lady Chapel, replacing blank glazing on each side of Alan Younger’s east window, and are the first to be commissioned by the abbey in over ten years.

The windows were designed by artist Hughie O’Donoghue, and were translated from full-size cartoons into glass by Helen Whittaker of Barley Studio.  They incorporate symbols and emblems related to the Virgin Mary – lilies, symbols of the Annunication and purity; stars, a symbol of the Conception – also feature the fleur de lys, which has long been associated with royalty.

The three-tier, five-light windows were designed to be one complete work, surrounding the east window and drawing the eye upwards. The glass shines with blue and golden tones; the blues – the traditional colour of the Virgin – range from a pale to an almost violet hue, and complement the golden ceiling of the chapel.

The panels were in place in time for the service to mark the anniversary, which was held in the abbey on 4 June 2013.

Burne-Jones Exhibition at the Lady Lever Art Gallery

 

An exhibition of drawings by Victorian artist Edward Burne-Jones (1833–1898) opens at the Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight this month. The exhibition includes designs for stained glass windows.  Featuring twenty-six drawings, seen together for the first time and drawn entirely from the collection of National Museums Liverpool, the exhibition will be on view from 14 June to 12 January 2014.

Burne-Jones assisted William Morris in founding Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. in 1861 and worked closely with Morris on a range of decorative arts.  He was closely involved in the rejuvenation of the tradition of stained glass art in Britain and supplied the company with large numbers of designs for stained glass.

The exhibition is divided thematically, with one section presenting a number of designs for stained-glass windows, including two watercolours of St Gabriel and St Raphael.  These are designs for the stained-glass windows of St Margaret’s Church, Rottingdean (Sussex), which Burne-Jones donated to the church to commemorate the marriage of his daughter.

Samples of Burne-Jones’s work can be found in buildings around Merseyside, including Ullet Road Unitarian Church in Sefton Park.  Other examples can be seen all over the country, including – but not limited to – in the Cathedral Church of St Philip, Birmingham; St Giles, Edinburgh; All Saints, Cambridge; 
St Michaelʼs, Macclesfield; the Church of St John the Baptist, Busbridge, Surrey; the Red House, Bexleyheath; and St Michael and All Angels Church, Berkshire.  More of Burne-Jones’s designs can be seen online on the CVMA website.

The Stained Glass Museum Annual Lecture 2013

The Stained Glass Museum has announced its 2013 annual lecture.  This will be given by Sarah Brown, FSA, on ‘The conservation of a medieval master-piece: John Thorntonʼs stained glass Apocalypse in York Minster’.

Sarah Brown is Director of the York Glaziers Trust and Chairman of the CVMA. She will speak about the conservation of the east window at York Minster, which is now more than half-way to completion.  The lecture will take place on Wednesday 24 July at 6pm, and will be held at the Art Workers Guild, 6 Queen Square, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 1AT. The nearest tube station is Russell Square.

Tickets are available in advance for £6.50 from The Stained Glass Museum, The South Triforium, Ely Cathedral, Ely, Cambs CB7 4DL. To book tickets by post, please make cheques payable to ‘The Stained Glass Museum’ and send email address or enclose SAE for confirmation of booking. For more information, or to pay by card, please phone 01353 660347, or email friends@stainedglassmuseum.com. Tickets are also available on the door at a cost of £8.00.

QEST Scholarship Granted to York Student

With the help of the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, Merlyn Griffiths will be starting a two-year Masterʼs degree at the University of York.  Merlyn is enrolled on the Stained Glass Conservation and Heritage Management MA, and will be taking up her position in October 2013.

The MA course will combine practical work with academic theory and will furnish Merlyn with the skills and knowledge to help preserve historic stained glass for future generations.

Merlyn – who is currently a paid intern at York Glaziers Trust, a role she will continue with part time alongside her studies – was chosen to receive the £15,000 grant, and was presented her award by the president of the Royal Warrant Holders Association at a ceremony in London on Tuesday 4 June.

She told Vidimus: ʻThanks to the award from QEST I can now study for my Masterʼs degree, which will teach me in depth about the history of stained glass and its conservation. When combined with the practical experience I gained at York Glaziers Trust, this knowledge will stand me in good stead to become a competent stained glass conservator in the future.ʼ

QEST grants scholarships of up to £18,000 to men and women of all ages twice a year, and since 1991 has awarded £2,000,000 to almost 300 craftsmen and women to develop their skills through study, training and work experience.

New Appointments at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Two appointments have been made at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in the Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters.  The museum houses a large and encyclopedic collection of stained glass from all over the world, and The Cloisters, with its magnificent collection of art from medieval Europe, celebrated its 75th anniversary this year.

Peter Barnet, currently Michel David-Weill Curator in Charge of the department, will move into the newly created position of Senior Curator, and C. Griffith Mann, the Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the Cleveland Museum of Art, will become the Metropolitan Museum’s Michel David-Weill Curator in Charge of the Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters.  Both aim to work towards helping audiences to connect with and discover the exceptional treasures of the medieval collections.  These changes will go into effect on September 1.  Click here for more information.

The stained glass of the Metropolitan Museum of Art can be viewed here.