Wilbur Herbert Burnham
Wilbur Herbert Burnham, born in Boston in 1887, was an artist and master craftsman in stained glass. Recognized as an outstanding authority on his subject, Burnham was commissioned to design windows for churches and cathedrals in the United States and in Europe. Among his most notable works are windows in the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul, Washington DC, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Riverside Church in New York City, Princeton University Chapel, and the American Church in Paris. Although he died in 1974, the studio he founded in 1922 is still in operation. Located in Rowley, MA, it is operated by his grandson, Mr. Wilbur C. Burnham.
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Henry Lee Willet
Henry Lee Willet has been called the "the nation's foremost artist in stained glass." Born in Pittsburgh, he as trained in the craft by his mother and father, who were leaders in the renaissance of stained glass in the United States at the turn of the century. Their studio was moved to Philadelphia in 1912, and he became president of the business in 1930. Under his leadership the studio grew and is reputed to be the largest in the world, having been commissioned to execute over 10,000 windows in every state and 13 foreign countries. Employing over 100 workers, the plant is still very much a leader in the craft. Mr. Willet was treasurer, trustee, and ruling elder of the Flourtown Presbyterian Church, a member of the National Presbyterian Board of Christian Education, and was twice elected commissioner to the General Assembly. He was noted for creative and brilliant use of color, and was a pioneer in the use and development of new techniques and materials designed to be compatible with today's architecture.
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George Gugert
George Gugert, one of the designers working at the Willet Studio, is responsible for four of out windows. Born in Philadelphia, he was, no doubt the son of Theodore Gugert, who worked with George H. Gibson in the city and who created the Sunday School window of 1874. Born in Philadelphia in 1876, Mr. Gugert was associated with the Willet Studio from 1912 until his death in 1958. He graduated from what is now the Philadelphia College of Art. In addition to his work in stained glass, he was a sculptor or note, one of his works being the bust of John Calvin in the Presbyterian Historical Society building.
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Charles Booth
Great South Window
Charles Booth made the first "picture" windows for our sanctuary. Minutes of our Board of Trustees include a letter from Mr. Chas. Booth dated Jan 29, 1894 "I hereby agree to furnish and place in position…windows for all the openings seen from the auditorium." But records indicate that Mr. Booth died in December, 1893! Born in Liverpool in 1844, he came to the United States from London in 1876 or 1877. His office in New York City was at 47 Lafayette Place and his workshop and home in Orange, NJ. A volume entitled Modern Surface Ornamentation, published in New York in 1877, includes two plates with designs for enameled glass by Mr. Booth. Important installations of his glass are in Calvary Church, Gramercy Park, and in Grace Church, New York City.
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Charles J. Connick
Charles J. Connick was born in Springboro, PA in 1875. When he was obliged to leave high school in Pittsburgh, he became an apprentice artist on the Pittsburgh Press and in 1894 began an apprenticeship in glass in the shop of Rudy Bros., Pittsburgh. In 1910, he went abroad to study stained glass and on his return opened a shop of his own in Boston. Regarded as the world's greatest contemporary craftsman in stained glass, Connick did much to raise the standard of the stained glass craft in America. He received many medals and prizes for his work; examples can be found in the chapel of Princeton University, the Heinz Memorial Chapel of the University of Pittsburgh, and the American Church in Paris as well as in the cathedrals of Verdun and Nancy in France. His rose window in the cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, some 40 feel in diameter and one the largest of its kind, is considered to be the greatest modern work in its field. He died in Boston in 1945. His studio there is still in operation and is the oldest in the city. Mr. Connick's window was installed in our church by J. Horace Rudy of York, for who Mr. Connick had worked in Pittsburgh.
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George H. Gibson
Sunday School
The George H. Gibson Stained Glass Works of Philadelphia was first established in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1820 and later in Philadelphia in 1844 as successor to MacLean and Ritchie. Mr. Gibson was called the "father of glass paining on his side" by Harper‘s, New Monthly Magazine in an article of 1879. He designed and executed the glass in the Capitol building in Washington, DC. While he made windows in stained glass, he may be noted more for his enameled glass, which is the style he used for our window.
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