Chicago Part 3: Tiffany Stained Glass

Honestly, I’ve never been a huge fan of Tiffany glass. I’ve always thought most of their lamps were kind of ugly…or at least, they always seemed that way on TV. But seeing Tiffany on your tv screen and experiencing a beautiful back lit window in person are two very different things. The Smith Museum has a great collection of Tiffany windows from around the Chicago area, and it’s hard to believe that these gorgeous creations ever existed outside of a gallery space, let alone a home. What surprised me the most was the depth to the layers of glass. The pictures aren’t flat shapes of color, but 3D glass paintings with depth of field (I wish the photo did it justice). I wish some of my detail shots would have turned out, but the colors were all washed out.

Btw, the above is a panel from The Annunciation.

Tags | Louis Comfort Tiffany, Navy Pier, Smith Museum of Stained Glass, stained glass, Tiffany glass