Design of Altar Rail for St. Paul's Church, Troy, New York
Louis C. Tiffany|Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company
ca. 1895–98 · Watercolor, pen and a variety of inks—metallic bronze, brown and black, and graphite on off-white wove paper-faced illustration board with original warm grey window matt · The American Wing
The altar rail based on this design exists, slightly altered, in St. Paul’s Church in Troy, New York, where it was installed after major renovations in the 1890s. The rail was commissioned by Sarah McCoun Vail Gould (1821–after 1880), wife of George V. Gould (1807–1868), Troy mayor and Supreme Court judge. The inscription on the reverse dedicates it “To the memory of Sarah Vail Voorhees” (1846–1872), the couple’s daughter, who presumably died in childbirth. The symmetrical filigree floral design is influenced by both Islamic geometric tiles and window screens, which were frequently employed in architectural settings both domestic and public.
- Artist
- Louis C. Tiffany|Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company
- Date
- ca. 1895–98
- Medium
- Watercolor, pen and a variety of inks—metallic bronze, brown and black, and graphite on off-white wove paper-faced illustration board with original warm grey window matt
- Culture
- American
- Department
- The American Wing
- Credit line
- Purchase, Walter Hoving and Julia T. Weld Gifts and Dodge Fund, 1967
