Woman in a Pergola with Wisteria
Manufacturer
Tiffany Studios
(American, 1902-1932)
CultureAmerican
Dateca. 1910-14
MediumLeaded glass with copper foil, stain, and enamel
DimensionsOverall, Frame (approximate): 93 3/8 × 113 1/2 × 3 1/2 in. (237.2 × 288.3 × 8.9 cm)
Overall without frame: 85 1/4 × 90 1/4 in. (216.5 × 229.2 cm)
Overall without frame: 85 1/4 × 90 1/4 in. (216.5 × 229.2 cm)
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number78.477
Collections
On View
Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 116-7
The woman in the window was likely inspired by Lillian Nordica (American, 1857-1914), an American opera singer who was lifelong friends with Joseph De Lamar, and whom De Lamar asked to marry him on two separate occasions. Nordica sang the titular role of Verdi's opera Aida in New York from 1894 to 1906, and in an official photograph of her as Aida, she draped in a manner that is strikingly similar to Tiffany's depiction in glass.
Label TextTiffany Studios New York, 1902–32 Woman in a Pergola with Wisteria, ca. 1910–14 Leaded glass with copper foil, stain, and enamel It was long assumed that the woman in this window was modeled after the ex-wife of Captain Joseph De Lamar (1843–1918), the millionaire who commissioned Tiffany to create this spectacular work for his Long Island home, Pembroke Estate. New research re-identifies the mysterious figure as De Lamar’s lifelong, and unrequited, love: the famous American opera singer Lillian Nordica (1857–1914). Nordica performed the titular role of Verdi’s Aida in New York from 1894 to 1906. In her official photograph, she is draped in a manner that is strikingly similar to Tiffany’s depiction in glass. De Lamar and Nordica shared a deep friendship, and he asked her to marry him on at least two separate occasions, some 30 years apart (in 1874 and again in 1905). Although their marriage never came to pass, De Lamar’s choice of imagery attests to and immortalizes his lifelong affection for Lillian Nordica. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 78.477 Published ReferencesDuncan, TIFFANY AT AUCTION, pg. 158, no. 406. Duncan, TIFFANY WINDOWS, pg. 81, color plate 61, two other De Lamar windows. Nancy O. Merrill, A CONCISE HISTORY OF GLASS REPRESENTED IN THE CHRYSLER MUSEUM GLASS COLLECTION, (The Chrysler Museum, 1989), #250. Jeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 144, fig. 182. Don Harrison, "Art Unveiled," _Coastal Virginia Magazine,_ April 2014, 50. Marissa Hershon, "An Aria in Glass: A Tiffany window for Joseph Raphael De Lamar," _The Magazine Antiques_, November-December 2015, 130-135. Diane C. Wright (editor), _Glass Masterworks from the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2017), pg. 128-131.
