Photo – Peter Swanson

Nave – South 5

1958 – Trinity Parish / Oldfields Chapel, Hughesville, MD

For the nave of this small country church in southern Maryland, Rowan and Irene created ten abstract windows.  There are five windows on the South wall, and this one is the closest to the altar.  Like the other windows in the church, this one is unusual for Rowan and Irene, in that there is no painting anywhere in the window.  Also like all the windows, the glass selection here is exquisite, with streaks and bubbles in the glass that add texture.

Purples, blues and grays give this window a moody atmosphere.  The two dominant shapes resemble quills at work in a scribe’s hand. 

Iconography

At present, the only clue we have to the meaning of these windows lies in the card that Trinity Parish printed, which says, “Ten large abstract windows symbolize the lives and work of the apostles.”  We are still unclear as to which window symbolizes which apostle, if indeed there is a correspondence between particular apostles and particular windows. We hope that continued research will reveal further information to help us solve this puzzle.

If these are symbolic pens, then who do they represent?  Is it one of the authors of the Gospels, or someone else?  One likely possibility would be Matthew, in his dual role as Gospel writer and tax collector. This is another mystery that we are working on deciphering.

Year Completed

1958

Artists

Rowan LeCompte

Irene Matz LeCompte

Fabricator

Rowan LeCompte

Irene Matz LeCompte

Location In Building

South Wall Nearest the Altar