Slowly but steadily, more information about Alice C. Morse's career as a stained-glass designer is being revealed. Browsing through the Metropolitan Museum of Art's online resources I found mention of windows I had never heard of before -- this article about a suite of stained-glass windows that Morse designed for the Larchmont Yacht Club's Women's Room, in 1897. A query has been made to determine if the windows still exist and I have been told that they do, so hopefully you will soon see actual photographs of the windows.
From the picture below, you can form an idea of what Morse's garland design windows might look like. Since the type is so small, I've transcribed the part of the article that describes the windows below.
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New-York Tribune, June 5, 1897, pg. 5 |
The
women’s room in the Larchmont Yacht Club, through the generosity of one of its
members, is being transformed into one of the most charming rooms of this
artistic clubhouse. … The same club member has also put in four opalescent
glass windows to add to the decoration of the room. These lights consist of
three transoms over the main window and a transom over the door. They are the
work of Miss Alice Morse, who has added to her distinction in the book-cover
field a reputation for thoroughly artistic work in several lines of
decoration-notably stained glass, embroideries and zinc etching.
Miss
Morse spent four years designing for stained glass in the Tiffany Glass
Company, and as a result has a thorough grasp of the practical necessities as
well as the artistic possibilities of this art. There are several examples of
her work in and about New-York. She not only makes the preliminary sketch
herself, but she also executes the working, drawing and choosing every piece of
glass.
The
general color scheme of the above-mentioned window is a warm one, the
background being of a purplish hue, with green opal tints. The jewels in the
garlands are amber and are what tare technically known as “broken” jewels, as
are also the green jewels in the border.
There
is a touch here and there of strong blue, to accent the opalescent effect of the
whole. Miss Morse’s color sense is sure and her work graceful in line, and well
thought out. We give illustrations of the mantel and three of the windows-two of the group of three window transoms-and the door transom.
