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Alumnae Memorial Window
Artist: Louis Comfort Tiffany Location: Chatham College Science Complex Commission: 1889 by the Alumnae Association of Pennsylvania Female College (now Chatham College) in honor of the classes of 1873 to 1888. Restoration: Damien Peduto Significance: Believed to be one of Tiffany's earliest windows and one of only 50 remaining from that period. Chatham's Alumnae Memorial Window incorporates experimental glass making and coloring techniques, including some of Tiffany's earliest Favrile glass. Size: 8' x 10' Design: Scholarly seated woman reading an open book inscribed with the college motto "That our daughters may be as cornerstones polished after the similitude of a palace." An infant lighting the lamp of knowledge hovers overhead. This image is undeniably inspired by a section of the Sistine Chapel. Surrounding the woman and infant are 13 spheres containing the names of classical thinkers, scientists, playwrights and poets. The top lunette of the window reads "Alumnae Association 1873 1888." It is also believed to be one of Tiffany's only works to depict women and education. The design truly illustrates the mission of the college to provide quality liberal arts education for women. History: This art treasure was a gift to the college by the Alumnae Association. More than two-thirds of the 130 alumnae contributed to the project that cost $650. Until 1925, the window hung in Dilworth Chapel on campus. It was removed to provide greater light and ventilation and remained in storage, forgotten, until 1997. In 1998, as the college celebrated the ground breaking for a new science complex, the window was being shipped to New Jersey for restoration. Damien Peduto of Tiffany Studios Restorations completed the painstaking museum-quality restoration in preparation for the window's permanent placement in the atrium of the science complex. The window will be unveiled at the dedication of the building on April 27, 2000. Benefactor: Chatham College alumna Marion Swannie Rand, class of 1945, has generously underwritten the $250,000 restoration of the Alumnae Memorial Window. Editor's Note: Interviews with Damien Peduto, Chatham College President Dr. Esther L. Barazzone and art historian and Chatham College professor Elisabeth Roark are available.
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