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Stained Glass Window "Hospitalitas"

Decorative Arts and Design

Debate as to who was the true inventor of the opalescent, or iridescent, glass that figured so prominently in American stained glass, arose between Louis Comfort Tiffany and John La Farge in their own time, and continues today, although it seems that La Farge may have been the first to explore this medium. Hospitalitas was designed for the Brooklyn house of Herbert L. Pratt, still standing at 213 Clinton Avenue, where it was installed in the stairwell landing in the entrance hall. Only eight years after it was made, the window was given to the Museum. This may be explained by La Farge's waning popularity at the end of his career. La Farge's earlier windows were often lush, Asian-inspired floral compositions in the Aesthetic Movement style. Hospitalitas, dressed in classical garb and flanked by columns, may have been La Farge's attempt to reconcile his art with the neoclassicism of the Beaux-Arts style popular at the time.

MEDIUM Glass
DATES 1906–1907
DIMENSIONS 82 1/2 x 52 in. (209.6 x 132.1 cm)  (show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER 15.493
CREDIT LINE Gift of Herbert L. Pratt
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION John La Farge (American, 1835–1910). Stained Glass Window "Hospitalitas," 1906–1907. Glass, 82 1/2 x 52 in. (209.6 x 132.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Herbert L. Pratt, 15.493. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 15.493_bw.jpg)
IMAGE overall, 15.493_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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John La Farge (American, 1835–1910). <em>Stained Glass Window "Hospitalitas,"</em> 1906–1907. Glass, 82 1/2 x 52 in. (209.6 x 132.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Herbert L. Pratt, 15.493. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 15.493_bw.jpg)

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