‘Tiffany Ball' to restore church windows

Musical fundraiser to be held at the Hall of Fame of the Trotter Goshen — The First Presbyterian Church in Goshen is planning a major fundraising initiative to preserve some of its most prized possessions. The huge stained glass windows at the head of the church are not only beautiful interpretations of The Resurrection of Christ, but also hold priceless value as a work of classic American art by Louis Comfort Tiffany, and commissioned by Gates W. McGarrah in 1925. Another Tiffany window, titled “Christ and the Pilgrims,” was added to the church in 1930. Both windows were signed by Tiffany and are said to have been among his favorite works of art. Along with every window in the church, the second Tiffany window, commissioned by Edgar Redfield, is endangered. After 85 years of exposure to the elements, the structure supporting these windows are in dire need of restoration. The window casings have pulled away from the windows, thus leaving them vulnerable to ruin. A fundraising committee of the church is planning a “The Tiffany Ball” to be held at The Hall of Fame of the Trotter on the evening of Saturday, June 5. The price of the ticket includes an evening of music, dinner, and beverage, and will be catered by Catherine’s Restaurant. A silent auction is also planned. Supporters may also purchase an ad in the journal book to advertise their business and display their support for the church and the community that it serves. Roof and tower need attention too In addition to the window casings, the Church’s Capital Campaign includes efforts to put a new roof on the Fellowship Hall and to repair a leak at the top of the 185-foot tower that graces the church’s edifice. The 185 foot stone bell tower can be seen from various vantage points in and around Goshen. It is also the highest structure in Orange County. Chaired by Loretta Richner and Craig Calzaretta, committee members Barbara and George Hankins, Lori Turner, Darlene Bartley, Bob Aglione, Ceil Ayres, Barbara Thompson, Ken Skyer, Wendy Paffenroth and Linda Boardman are busily at work to strive for an event that is enjoyable, entertaining, and profitable for the church. To receive an invitation packet to the Tiffany Ball by mail or to purchase an ad in the Journal Book, contact Barbara Hankins by phone (294-8410) or by e-mail at george_hankins@hotmail com. Tickets are $125 per person or a table of 10 can be purchased for $1000. Journal ads are $100 for a full page, $65 per half page, and $35 per quarter page. Checks for the pre-paid RSVP’s to the invitations should be made to The First Presbyterian Church in Goshen with “Fundraising” written in the memo space. Reservation checks can be sent to the attention of Barbara Hankins, or taken in person, to the church at 33 Park Place in Goshen. Reservations should be made by May 15. Questions about the event can be directed to the Church Office (294-7991) or to Barbara Hankins (294-8410). Community support for this project is so important on so many levels, the organizers say. It transcends artistic, historical, architectural, religious, and community preservation as the First Presbyterian Church in Goshen is one Orange County landmark that deserves to be preserved for future generations. Tiffany and the art of stained glass Through artistic innovation and marketing savvy, Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) revolutionized and dominated the American stained glass business throughout the late-19th and early-20th centuries. The name Tiffany has become synonymous with the art of stained glass. His showmanship and the production capacity of his New York City-based companies enabled him to dominate a market, especially for religious institutions. A man of wealth and strong artistic convictions, he reinvented stained glass technology in America, with his windows the rage in thousands of American houses of worship, public and commercial buildings, and private residences. Today, Tiffany windows are often the most valuable artistic objects in a religious building and reflect the social history of the congregation. Louis Comfort Tiffany was the eldest son of Charles Comfort Tiffany, a jewelry and silver merchant who headed Tiffany & Co., the New York City shop that continues today as a world-famous purveyor of luxury objects. The younger Tiffany studied in Europe and began his career as a painter, but soon turned to the applied arts, especially textiles and wallpaper. At the same time, Tiffany became increasingly involved in glassmaking, forming Louis C. Tiffany & Co. in 1883. Tiffany considered the prevalent mode of painting on glass as “dull and artificial” compared to the medieval method of coloring molten glass with metals and other chemicals. Tiffany and other artists, principally the painter and glass innovator John LaFarge, created a spectacular array of effects with glass alone, rarely using paint. The firm eventually offered more than 5,000 colors and varieties of glass. Tiffany’s other innovations included layering multiple pieces of glass to add depth to images or to create misty, ethereal scenes; wrapping glass in copper foil to depict the organic lines of flowers and foliage; and creating “drapery glass” by pouring, gathering, twisting, pulling, and folding glass to simulate garment folds, feathers, and the like; melding tiny colored glass chips with solid sheets to produce a shimmering “confetti” effect. Between 1900 and 1910 window production peaked, followed by the public’s gradual loss of interest as the novelty diminished. The great trove of ecclesiastical stained glass produced during the American Renaissance (1876-1917) has suffered from fire, theft, vandalism, and deterioration. Fortunately, the revival of interest in Tiffany windows, beginning in the 1950s and ‘60s, has brought back its status and encouraged restoration.

If you go
Where: The Hall of Fame of the Trotter, 240 Main St. Goshen
When: Evening of Saturday, June 5
Cost: $125 per person, or a table of 10 for $1,000