TIFFANY STUDIOS
TIFFANY STUDIOS
TIFFANY STUDIOS
TIFFANY STUDIOS
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Please note this lot will be moved to Christie’s F… Read more
TIFFANY STUDIOS

'Cypress and Azalea' Landscape Window for 'Carmore', the Residence of Charles E. Rushmore, Woodbury Falls, New York, circa 1908

Details
TIFFANY STUDIOS
'Cypress and Azalea' Landscape Window for 'Carmore', the Residence of Charles E. Rushmore, Woodbury Falls, New York, circa 1908
leaded and plated glass
77 1/2 in. (196.8 cm.) high, 77 in. (195.6 cm.) wide (sight)
86 (218.4 cm.) high, 85 3/4 in. (217.8 cm.) wide (framed)
acid etched TIFFANY STVDIOS NEW YORK
Provenance
Commissioned by Charles Rushmore, Woodbury Falls, New York, circa 1908.
The Warshawsky Corporate Collection, Chicago.
Tiffany Lamps from the Warshawsky Corporate Collection; Sotheby's, New York, 5 June 1996, lot 193.
Acquired by Ann and Gordon Getty from the above.
Literature
A. Duncan, Tiffany Windows, New York, 1980, p. 55, fig. 41 (present lot illustrated).
Special notice
Please note this lot will be moved to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS in Red Hook, Brooklyn) at 5pm on the last day of the sale. Lots may not be collected during the day of their move to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services. Please consult the Lot Collection Notice for collection information. This sheet is available from the Bidder Registration staff, Purchaser Payments or the Packing Desk and will be sent with your invoice.

Brought to you by

Elizabeth Seigel
Elizabeth Seigel Vice President, Specialist, Head of Private and Iconic Collections

Lot Essay

Charles E. Rushmore and Jeannette Carpenter Rushmore sought peace and solace when they traveled to the Catskill Mountains near West Point in the early 1900s. Jeannette greatly enjoyed the fresh mountain air, prompting Charles to begin acquiring large swathes of land in Woodbury, New York. In 1908, the couple began to build a large Spanish Colonial home in Woodbury Falls on 1500 acres of land. The couple named the home Carmore, a portmanteau of Jeannette’s maiden name and Rushmore, a beautiful representation of their mutual fondness of their lush new oasis in the mountains. The couple hired Tiffany Studios to produce a clock for the home’s tower and the present lot, a grand window to bring some of the beauty which initially captivated them, into their new home.

The sylvan landscape depicting cypress trees against distant purple mountains illustrates the landscape that captivated the Rushmore’s over one hundred years ago. Mount Schunnemunk, possibly the peak in the distance, was within Rushmore’s property. A stream flows in the left foreground, disappearing between the mountains. A lush growth of blooming azaleas swells in the lower right corner creating a blossoming Spring-time scene. Above all is a peaceful blue sky with shades of light yellow and deep lavender when illuminated. The overall effect is peaceful and restorative, a tranquil respite from the chaos of the city.

The sky, faraway mountains, hills, and water are beautifully rendered in multicolored opalescent glass. Greens, pinks, and yellows hint at grass and flowers, while the dream-like mountains shimmer in cobalt and deep purple. Mottled glass on the hillsides under the trees creates the effect of dappled sunlight coming through leaves. Streaky glass accentuates the delicate fuchsia and lavender azalea petals surrounded by green almond-shaped leaves. Below the bed of flowers, brown and green confetti glass imitates the variegated ground below the shrubs.

Streamer glass, colored glass into which hot glass is poured in striations, lends an astonishing vitality to the trees and branches. A thoughtful selection of streamer glass creates dimension in the forest of trees and branches cascading down the mountain. The brown striations in the trees on the right mimic branches in an impressionistic rendering. The effect is so skillfully rendered that it ultimately results in a beautifully stylized depiction of the view so beloved by the Rushmores.

– Julie L. Sloan, consultant in stained glass, writes about windows from her home in Lake Placid, New York. She works on stained-glass conservation projects as well, including Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple and The Riverside Church in New York.

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