Are the seashells in the Brigham stained glass treated in some way? Filled with something?
Although Brigham was following in the stained glass achievements of Lewis C. Tiffany and John La Farge, he developed his own method using shells that he called "Marine Mosaic." In this method Brigham added a novel and literal naturalism to his landscape windows by the inclusion of seashells and quartz river stones. Trained as a painter, Brigham christened his artistic invention "Marine Mosaic."The window was commissioned in 1911 by Abigail Merrill in memory of her husband Charles and installed in the chapel of the Home for Aged Men, 745 Classon Avenue Brooklyn, where it remained until the 1960s, when the building was razed.
Is this made of actual shells?
Yes, it is! The artist used seashells and quartz river stones. He called this innovation "Marine Mosaic."
He was trained as a painter, incidentally!
A woman had this window made in memory of her husband, who had recently died.
Where can I find more work by Brigham?
His windows are in the Union Chapel in the Grove and St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, both located on Shelter Island (off Long Island).
An interesting fact: Brigham had a second career as an illustrator for pulp magazines in the 1920s and 1930s!
This is beautiful.
That's a really unusual piece, do you see the actual seashells that the artist incorporated into the stained glass?
The artist, Brigham, lived on Shelter Island, NY and would often wander around looking for materials for his marine mosaic windows. Some of the green glass was made from broken wineglasses and the glass in the water and foliage may be pieces of broken light-pole insulators.
The window was commissioned by Abigail Merrill in memory of her husband Charles and was installed in the chapel of the Home for Aged Men, 745 Classon Avenue Brooklyn, where it remained until the 1960s, when the building was razed.
How did Brigham decide on the three-dimensional components of this piece?
He got his ideas from his surroundings. Brigham lived on Shelter Island and would often wander around looking for materials for his "marine mosaic" windows.
The glass in the sunset is a little more traditional but the seashells were the artist's innovation, and the green pieces in the plant stems came from broken wine glasses!
Neat, the story behind the craftsmanship enhances the experience.
He found materials everywhere!
Hi! I am wondering if you have any information regarding the commission of this work?
Hello, thanks for using the ASK app today. I have just been researching this mosaic window, it's so fascinating!
This work was created for the Charles Merrill Memorial Chapel at the Brooklyn Home for Aged Men. A woman named Abigail Merrill commissioned it in 1911 in memory of her husband, Charles. The window remained in the chapel until the 1960s when the chapel was torn down. The window came here as a gift from various donors to the Museum.
Neat, thanks!
You're welcome!
Marine mosaics are extremely captivating! I would love to hear your perspective on the window as well. It's truly an under appreciated style!
I am so intrigued by the window and just Brigham's style overall. The fact that he was using found materials, especially natural materials, well before it was popular in the arts to do so is fascinating to me. I also love that he followed in the footsteps of the big names in stained glass-Tiffany, Lamb-and created objects like lampshades and jewelry, as they were, but in the marine mosaic style. He's definitely under appreciated, I agree!
When did 3d stain glass gain popularity? It's beautiful.
Oh I love that work! The seashells, rocks and wine bottle fragments included are so innovative and unusual, as is his binding agent he used to "glue" the pieces together, he used a secret recipe that was also used in aquariums
Woah! That is so cool.
Our conservators, wish he had used something more conventional
Why is that? When did 3d stain glass gain popularity? It's beautiful.
Good question, while opalescent stained glass (the type of multicolored glass that he used)
was a "uniquely American phenomenon" that began in the 1890s with Tiffany and LaFarge. Tiffany sometimes used found stones in his glass light shades beginning in the 1890s.
Oh, because its a relatively unstable and unknown supporting binder, thus making it difficult to remain and conserve long term. Though the window is about 100 years old, its hard to say what will happen with the binding agent further down the road.
The window did undergo a fairly complicated conservation treatment in the 1990's. Brigham once said ""It is impossible to use ordinary leading such as most mosaic artists use. I use cement. My uncle has used it for one thing and another for twenty years or more, which proves its durability, but it is a secret of our family."
Wow. What do you think he was inspired by? The use of sea shells, to create what looks almost like american landscape.
Shelter Island, off the coast of Long Island was his point of inspiration. Though he grew up in Maryland he summered every year there and eventually moved there as a teenager.
His Friends on Shelter Island, helped him gather materials for his windows, lamps and jewelry. He would of course go out and source things himself, but his friends were a huge help. So without a doubt he was continually inspired by the sea, and the island he called home
What is this made out of?!
Very unusual materials, thats for sure! W. Cole Brigham used numerous non-traditional materials to make this work, seashells, glass bottles, pebbles, and even utilized his own specialized adhesive to join them together as opposed more traditional glass leading.
Is this considered stained glass?
Yes! This stained glass window by W. Cole Brigham is one of my favorite pieces because of the way that it incorporates all the different materials and shells! Can you see the wine bottle fragments? Brigham asked his friends on Shelter Island, where he lived and worked, to help him gather materials for his windows, lamps and jewelry. They were all made in his signature "marine mosaic" style.
So cool! Are the big green pieces at the bottom the wine bottles?
We believe so, yes. The green glass in the lower left hand corner that makes up the stems of the plants are made from broken wine bottles. The piece rewards close looking! This object has a great Brooklyn connection too: it was commissioned in 1911 by Abigail Merrill in memory of her husband Charles and installed in the chapel of the Home for Aged Men at 745 Classon Avenue Brooklyn, where it remained until the 1960s, when the building was razed.
(The green glass in the lower left hand corner that makes up the stems of the plants are made from broken wine bottles); the piece rewards close looking and when it is daytime, the light shines through from a window in the hallway behind the work!
What a great piece!
Isn't it amazing? Brigham lived on Shelter Island and collected shells to integrate into his windows and lamps. The scene is an imagined landscape. Do you see the yellow glass in the sky? This was likely purchased from Tiffany Studios, that produced similar glass at their workshop in Queens.
Thank you!
You're welcome!
Tell me more about the "Charles Merrill Memorial Window".
This window is quite unique because Brigham used odd material to create it. Brigham would have friends on Shelter Island help him gather such materials for his windows, lamps, and jewelry making his signature "marine mosaic" style. Glass, such as broken wine bottle; sea shells; and pebbles were used. This window was originally installed in a chapel at The Brooklyn Home for Aged Men.
I've walked past this work by W. Cole Brigham and only now noticed its 3-dimensional surface!
Brigham developed his own stained glass method called "marine mosaic." He added a literal naturalism to his landscape windows by the inclusion of seashells and quartz river stones.
I'm looking at a work of stained glass by W. Cole Brigham. The sign says he incorporated shells and quartz into his work, did he also incorporate natural glass (i.e., glass lumps that can be found on beaches, that are formed by natural processes)?
Yes, I imagine if he found natural glass, he would have incorporated it. Some of the fragments are also from man-made glass that had been worn down over time.
The curator believes, although it is not confirmed, that the beautiful glass of the sky was produced by Tiffany Studios.
Cool, thanks!
What are the materials this is made out of?
This window is made entirely from found materials: glass and sea shells. Some of the larger sheets of glass may even have been originally produced at the famous Tiffany Studios. The chunky green fragments are pieces of broken electrical insulators.
