Charles J. Connick Studio Records

Item Information

Title:
Charles J. Connick Studio Records
Description:
Charles J. Connick (1875-1945) was one of the pre-eminent artists in stained glass in the early 20th century; his stained glass studio created approximately 15,000 windows in over 5,000 commissions from 1912 to 1986. Boston Public Library's collection includes 2,150 studies for these windows, along with over 10,000 black and white photographs of Connick windows, both completed and in process. <br/> <br/> Executed in watercolor and gouache, these studies provide critical insight into the nature and range of an artist's working process, as well as a valuable glimpse of the artist's own hand, visible in the minute corrections and methodical plotting of forms often not seen in the finished product. They are also visually stunning works of art in their own right. <br/> <br/> The images in this collection also include panels of stained glass created by Connick Studios as preparatory works or exhibition pieces. As installed in their original settings, stained glass windows would display a variety of light and shadow throughout the course of the day that is difficult to capture in a still image. The stained glass panels are, by their very nature, ever-changing, the color constantly reacting with the light as it passes through the panels. These digital images were shot with external lights that cast a specific range of luminosity to mimic sunlight as much as possible, while also detailing the great craftsmanship of each panel, such as the paint strokes, leading construction, and structural detail. <br/> <br/> Critical funding to support long-term preservation of and enhanced public access to Boston Public Library collections, including this one, was provided by the <a href="https://www.associatesbpl.org/" target="_blank">Associates of the Boston Public Library</a> and the <a href="https://www.architects.org/foundation" target="_blank">BSA Foundation</a>
Format:
Collections
Drawings/Illustrations
Paintings
Photographs
Objects/Artifacts
Documents
Prints
Ephemera
Location:
Boston Public Library