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A Great Exhibit of Art Glass Windows

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I went to a very wonderful exhibit recently. This unique exhibit was entitled Frank Lloyd Wright: Windows of the Darwin D. Martin House. It was held at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center at Buffalo State College in New York.

The exhibit featured over 70 windows that have been removed from the Darwin Martin House while it is being restored. The windows in the exhibit were hung in a suspended structural system to simulate the spatial relationships of the windows as they are positioned in the house. In this way, visitors could experience the windows in their original proximity to each other and discover their role in defining the space within the home. While some windows are reproductions to replace the lost originals, many of the windows are original. They are only temporarily removed and will be returned to the house as the renovation progresses. Some of the panes are overhead and are referred to as laylights.

Art glass windows prior to that time, for example those by Tiffany, LaFarge and others, were composed completely of colored art glass. While those windows are extremely beautiful, they were not windows through which the outdoors could be viewed. Wright's philosophy was to use windows to invite the outdoors in - inviting nature to become part of the interior spaces. He likened glass to nature's mirrors - the water in ponds, lakes and rivers - and would string windows together in bands to create screens of light. By including a generous amount of clear glass in his designs, Wright's windows allowed for easier viewing of the outdoors than art glass windows had ever done before.

Built from 1903-1905, the Darwin Martin House has been recognized as a masterwork of Wright . This is because of its unusual size (a six-building complex), combined with the intricate interweaving of its structure and surrounding space and the elegance of its detailing. The architectural style of the house is what Wright referred to as Prairie Style. This style developed directly from Wright's early design work (1893-1900) and is based on organic elements and simplicity. It is especially popular in the Midwestern United States and features a flat or shallow-pitched roof with broad overhangs, banks of casement windows and decorative banding along the exterior walls. Stained glass windows in simple, geometric patterns often accent the structure.

The Darwin Martin House itself is undergoing a $24 million renovation by the Martin House Restoration Corporation through support of a number of companies and organizations. Linden Glass Company of Chicago, which was in business from 1882-1934, made the original windows. Linden Glass was also engaged by Wright to produce windows for the Robie House in Chicago. Oakbrook Esser Studios in Wisconsin is doing the work of producing replacements for the missing windows.

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