Photo – Peter Swanson

Working Together

2003 – The Little Sanctuary,               Saint Albans School, Washington, DC

Nearly 50 years after Rowan created his first windows for this chapel, he returned to make two more. These windows adorn the doors on either side of the altar and were done in collaboration with his longtime artistic associate Dieter Goldkuhle, who was responsible for their fabrication.  Like some of the earlier windows that Rowan and Irene did for this chapel, this one has thick lead lines and beautiful glass.  However, in both of these windows the figures are less abstract, and the colors are not quite as moody as in the earlier windows.  This is an optimistic window, and the active blue figures stand out against the bright red background.  The crosshatching is very typical of Rowan’s style and is used both to control the light and as a design element. In one of the photo details below, you can see how he first paints the crosshatching and then scratches it out to lighten the effect.  A surious detail you can see below is that in one of the pieces of glass there is a marking form the glass company that reads backwards from iside the chapel.  You have to go outside to see what it says.

Iconography

While this window clearly depicts a group of boys playing soccer, it also has a much deeper meaning. In an article in the school newspaper, Sandy Hill writes of these windows, “The two scenes represented in the windows express a collaboration of ideas between the Merchant family (the donors) and Mr. LeCompte and portray specific values important to the Saint Alban’s Community.  This picture represents the necessity of man to work together towards common goals. Humanity is the key in both windows.” In the window, Rowan has created each boy to look different, yet they are all working together to overcome obstacles, which seem to be represented by the big blocks of green and purple.  In his dedication speech for the windows, Headmaster Vance Wilson said that the two windows are related to each other by the theme of preserving the human race, in the one window by taking care of the environment and the other window by working together.

Year Completed

2003

Artists

Rowan LeCompte

Fabricator

Dieter Goldkhule

Location In Building

South Altar Door