Judson Studios Photograph Collection of Frederick Wilson Design Drawings, 1895-1932 BIB.92302 This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on December 02, 2015. Describing Archives: A Content Standard Special Collections & Archives Rakow Research Library Corning Museum of Glass 5 Museum Way Corning, NY 14830 archives@cmog.org URL: http://www.cmog.org/research/library
Table of Contents Summary Information... 3 Biographical / Historical... 3 Scope and Contents... 4 Administrative Information... 5 Related Materials... 6 Controlled Access Headings... 6 Collection Inventory... 6 Series I. Design Drawings for Garrett Memorial Chapel, circa 1930-1932... 6 Subseries A. Crypt... 6 Subseries B. Sanctuary and Vestibule... 7 Series II. Assorted Design Drawings, 1895-1929, undated... 7 - Page 2 -
Summary Information Repository: Special Collections & Archives Creator: Wilson, Frederick, 1858-1932 Source: Title: ID: Date [inclusive]: 1895-1932 Physical Description: Physical Description: Language of the Material: Preferred Citation Judson Studios (Los Angeles, Calif.) Judson Studios Photograph Collection of Frederick Wilson Design Drawings, 1895-1932 BIB.92302 1 Boxes 1.6 Linear Feet English [Item name and box/folder# if available]. Judson Studios Photograph Collection of Frederick Wilson design drawings, 1895-1932. Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY. Biographical / Historical Frederick Wilson (1858-1932) was born in Dublin, Ireland to Charles and Elizabeth Wilson. He and his five siblings were raised in Liverpool and London, and though little is known about Wilson s early artistic education, it is probable that he received some training from his father who was an artist. Why and how he became a stained glass designer is also unknown, but he lived and worked in England as an artist until he was 34. In 1891 he married Mary Gwladys Morgan and the following year they immigrated to the United States. The couple had three children: Gladys, Sylvia and Beatrice. After arriving in America, Wilson worked briefly for Alfred Godwin and Company, a stained glass studio in Philadelphia, and in 1893 he began working for the prestigious glass designer Louis Comfort Tiffany at his studios in New York City. The ecclesiastical designs he created were successfully transformed into the opalescent stained glass windows favored by churches at the turn of the century. Out of the team of religious window designers employed by Tiffany, Wilson emerged as the most - Page 3-
gifted, prolific and long-serving. He was appointed head of the ecclesiastical department at Tiffany Studios in 1899, and continued working for Tiffany until 1923 when he and his family decided to move to Los Angeles, CA. In California, Wilson worked for The Judson Studios, which was one of the most prominent stained glass studios on the West Coast. He remained there until his death in 1932. The final windows Wilson worked on before his death were those for the Garrett Memorial Chapel, which is also known as the Little Chapel on the Mount. Paul and Evelyn Garrett built the chapel in 1931 near the family home in Bluff Point, NY in order to memorialize their son who had died from tuberculosis. The Garretts commissioned Wilson to design windows for the crypt, sanctuary and vestibule of the chapel and they hired Judson Studios to execute them. Eighteen windows were produced and while the sanctuary and vestibule windows depict scenes from Christ s life, it was Evelyn Garrett s wish that the crypt windows represent non-religious topics. Therefore, scenes from the works of poets such as Alfred Tennyson and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow were chosen by the Garretts for Wilson to portray. The Judson Studios was founded in 1897 in downtown Los Angeles by William Lees Judson and his three sons. The company specializes in designing, creating and installing hand-crafted stained glass for both religious and secular uses. As of 2015, the Judson Studios is still in operation and is in its fifth generation of family ownership. Bibliography: Duncan, A., Eidelberg, M., & Harris, N. (1989). "Masterworks of Louis Comfort Tiffany." New York: Abrams. Wright, Diane C. Frederick Wilson (1858-1932): An American stained-glass designer. Master s thesis, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution; and Parsons School of Design, 2005. Scope and Contents The Judson Studios Photograph Collection of Frederick Wilson Design Drawings, 1895-1932, is arranged into two series: Series I. Design Drawings for Garrett Memorial Chapel, circa 1930-1932; and Series II. Assorted Design Drawings, 1895-1929. Series I. Design Drawings for Garrett Memorial Chapel, circa 1930-1932 This series contains photographs of the designs Frederick Wilson created for the stained glass windows located in the crypt, sanctuary and vestibule. The designs for the eight windows produced in the crypt are all included. Out of the ten windows produced for the rest of the chapel, nine of the designs are represented. The only design drawing not present in this collection is the one for the window depicting The Good Samaritan." - Page 4-
Series II. Assorted Design Drawings, 1895-1929 This series consists of photographs of a variety of drawings created by Wilson during his career. While several of the drawings can be matched to executed windows--installed by companies such as Tiffany, Gorham and Judson--for many of the designs it is unknown if they were ever produced. Administrative Information Publication Statement Special Collections & Archives Rakow Research Library Corning Museum of Glass 5 Museum Way Corning, NY 14830 archives@cmog.org URL: http://www.cmog.org/research/library Custodial History Gift of the Judson Studios and the Stained Glass Association of America, 1988. Conditions Governing Access This collection is open to researchers. Conditions Governing Use The Copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. The user agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Corning Museum of Glass and the Rakow Research Library against all claims, demands, costs and expenses incurred by copyright infringement or any other legal or regulatory cause of action arising from the use of Library materials. - Page 5-
Related Materials Related Materials Jeffrey Rush Higgins Collection on Frederick Wilson, 1885-1990 Controlled Access Headings Stained glass windows -- United States -- 19th century -- Designs and plans Stained glass windows -- United States -- 20th century -- Designs and plans Wilson, Frederick, 1858-1932 Judson Studios (Los Angeles, Calif.) Collection Inventory Series I. Design Drawings for Garrett Memorial Chapel, circa 1930-1932 Subseries A. Crypt Title/Description Instances 3 copies of "The Brook" based on the poem by Alfred Tennyson box 1 folder 1 "Sir Galahad" based on the poem "The Idylls of the King" by Alfred Tennyson "Wynken, Blynken and Nod" based on the poem by Eugene Field 2 copies of "Abou ben Adhem" based on the poem by Leigh Hunt 3 copies of "Mother's Love" based on the poem by Marchioness de Spadara 2 copies of "The Children's Hour" based on the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow box 1 folder 2 box 1 folder 3 box 1 folder 4 box 1 folder 5 box 1 folder 6 - Page 6-
"Crossing the Bar" based on the poem by Alfred Tennyson box 1 folder 7 "Little Boy Blue" based on the poem by Eugene Field box 1 folder 8 Subseries B. Sanctuary and Vestibule Title/Description Instances "Nativity" box 1 folder 9 "Ascension" box 1 folder 10 "Boy Christ" box 1 folder 11 2 copies of "They brought unto him a penny" box 1 folder 12 3 copies of "A marriage in Cana" box 1 folder 13 "Thy son liveth" box 1 folder 14 3 copies of "Suffer little children" box 1 folder 15 3 copies of "Thy sins are forgiven" box 1 folder 16 "Prayer" box 1 folder 17 Series II. Assorted Design Drawings, 1895-1929, undated Title/Description "The House of Aldus-1502" for the Troy Public Library, Troy, NY, 1895 "Joshua" for the Sandham Memorial at Marble Collegiate Church, New York City, NY, circa 1900 Instances box 1 folder 18 box 1 folder 19 2 copies of "Music," 1909 box 1 folder 20 "David" for the Forbes Memorial at Unitarian Church of the Saviour, Brooklyn, NY, circa 1913 box 1 folder 21 Christ walking with child, 1927 box 1 folder 22 "Nativity," 1928 box 1 folder 23 Kneeling figure with text "They shall see God", 1928 box 1 folder 24 "Argonauts," 1928 box 1 folder 25 "The Crucifixion," 1928 box 1 folder 26 "Annunciation to Shepherd," 1928 box 1 folder 27 2 copies of designs for 3 windows at Glenn Abbey Memorial Park, San Diego, CA, 1929 box 1 folder 28 "Christ Blessing Children," undated box 1 folder 29 - Page 7-
"English Martyrs Memorial," undated box 1 folder 30 "Sketches for wall painting," undated box 1 folder 31 "S. Patrick," undated box 1 folder 32 2 copies of angel in armor with spear and sword, undated box 1 folder 33 Robed figure, undated box 1 folder 34 2 copies of design depicting scenes from the Bible, undated box 1 folder 35 - Page 8-