Nicola D'Ascenzo (September 25, 1871, Torricella Peligna, Italy – April 13, 1954, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was an Italian-born American stained glass designer, painter and instructor. He is best known for creating stained glass windows for the

Washington Memorial Chapel Washington Memorial Chapel — located on Pennsylvania Route 23 in Valley Forge National Historical Park — is both a national memorial dedicated to General George Washington and an active Episcopal parish in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania ...

in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; the

Nipper Building The Nipper Building is a colloquial name for ''The Victor'' condominiums, and formerly, Building 17, RCA Victor Company, Camden Plant. The structure is a historical building located in Cooper Grant neighborhood of Camden, Camden County, New Jer ...

in Camden, New Jersey; the Loyola Alumni Chapel of Our Lady at

Loyola University Maryland Loyola University Maryland is a private Jesuit university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early and eight other members of the Society of Jesus in 1852, it is the ninth-oldest Jesuit college in the ...

; the

Folger Shakespeare Library The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare material ...

and

Washington National Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral, is an American cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in Washington, D.C., the cap ...

, both in Washington, D.C.

Biography

He was born in

Torricella Peligna Torricella Peligna is a ''comune'' and town in the Province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region of[Italy. History The foundation of Torricella dates back according to local tradition to an exodus from the exiles of Juvanum, during the Byzantine W ...

, Italy, into a family of artists, metalworkers and armor makers. His immediate family emigrated to the United States in 1882, and settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Working as a mural painter while in his teens, he attended night classes at the

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma, Scuola Libera in Rome. The couple returned to Philadelphia in 1896, where he worked as a portrait painter and opened D'Ascenzo Studios, initially an interior decorating firm. Horn and Hardart Broadway New York turn of the century

Horn and Hardart Broadway New York turn of the century

D'Ascenzo Studios created

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

interiors (and later stained glass facades) for

Horn & Hardart Horn & Hardart was a food services company in the United States noted for operating the first food service automats in Philadelphia, New York City, and Baltimore. Philadelphia's Joseph Horn (1861–1941) and German-born, New Orleans-raised Frank ...

restaurants, a chain of about fifty

automat An automat is a fast food restaurant where simple foods and drinks are served by vending machines. The world's first automat, Quisisana, opened in Berlin, Germany in 1895. By country Germany The first automat in the world was the Quisisana ...

s that began in Philadelphia in 1902. The company's flagship restaurant in New York City (1912) was on Broadway at

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

Stained glass

D'Ascenzo dabbled in stained glass on his own for several years, and studied the craft at the New York School of Design, sometime around 1900. He completed his first stained glass commission in 1904. Initially, he bought glass from local manufacturers, but soon began making his own. Beginning in 1911, he spent his summers in Europe, making a comprehensive study of stained glass in cathedrals. In 1921, he was granted permission to set up scaffolding inside

Chartres Cathedral Chartres Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres), is a Roman Catholic church in Chartres, France, about southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the Bishop of Chartres. Mostly con ...

for several weeks, to sketch and examine the windows up close. The following summer he did the same at

Leon Cathedral Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...

in Spain. Architect

Milton Bennett Medary Milton Bennett Medary Jr. (February 6, 1874 – August 7, 1929) was an American architect from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, practicing with the firm Zantzinger, Borie and Medary from 1910 until his death. Biography Medary attended the University ...

assembled an extraordinary team of collaborators for his

(1914–17) in

Valley Forge, Pennsylvania The Village of Valley Forge is an unincorporated settlement located on the west side of Valley Forge National Historical Park at the confluence of Valley Creek and the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania. The remaining village is in Schuylkill Tow ...

– built on the grounds of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

's 1777–1778 winter encampment. D'Ascenzo Studios created thirteen stained glass windows;

Samuel Yellin Samuel Yellin (1884–1940), was an American master blacksmith, and metal designer. Career Samuel Yellin was born to a Jewish family in Mohyliv-Podilskyi, Ukraine in the Russian Empire in 1884. At the age of eleven, he was apprenticed to a ...

created wrought iron gates, hardware and locks;

Edward Maene Edward Maene (21 April 1852, Bruges, Belgium – 4 December 1931, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was a Belgian-American Architectural sculpture, architectural sculptor, woodcarver and cabinetmaker. Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he was a m ...

created oak reredos, choir stalls and church furniture; and sculptors

Franklin Simmons Franklin Bachelder Simmons (January 11, 1839 – December 8, 1913) was a prominent American sculptor of the nineteenth century. Three of his statues are in the National Statuary Hall Collection, three of his busts are in the United States Senate ...

Alexander Stirling Calder Alexander Stirling Calder (January 11, 1870 – January 7, 1945) was an American sculpture, sculptor and teacher. He was the son of sculptor Alexander Milne Calder and the father of sculptor Alexander Calder, Alexander (Sandy) Calder. His best-kn ...

Bela Pratt Bela Lyon Pratt (December 11, 1867 – May 18, 1917) was an American sculptor from Connecticut. Life Pratt was born in Norwich, Connecticut, to Sarah (Whittlesey) and George Pratt, a Yale-educated lawyer. His maternal grandfather, Oramel Whittle ...

, and Martha Maulsby Hovenden created statues and other works. The Reverend W. Herbert Burke, who led the decades-long effort to build the chapel, celebrated its completion:

The glowing imagery of stained glass associated with perpendicular Gothic is seen in full perfection. In this respect the chapel is comparable to the famous
Sainte-Chapelle The Sainte-Chapelle (; en, Holy Chapel) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France. Co ...
in Paris, but surpasses the European masterpiece in warmth and delicacy of execution as well as in symbolic appeal.

For the bell tower (completed 1953), D'Ascenzo Studios created a mosaic bust of George Washington and a

Rose Window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...

: ''Washington at Prayer''. In 1916, the studio completed four 14 ft (4.27 m)-diameter

roundel A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of differ ...

windows for the tower of the

Victor Talking Machine Company The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidia ...

in Camden, New Jersey. Each depicted the company's logo – "

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

" (also known as "

Nipper Nipper (1884 – September 1895) was a dog from Bristol, England, who served as the model for an 1898 painting by Francis Barraud titled ''His Master's Voice''. This image became one of the world's best known trademarks, the famous dog-and- gra ...

") – a dog listening quizzically to a

gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

. At night, the windows were illuminated, and the west-facing window was visible from Philadelphia, on the opposite side of the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

. The original windows were removed in 1969 and the studio manufactured identical replacement windows which were installed in the tower in 1979. The current tower windows are 2003 reproductions made by another firm. The Camden County Historical Society and the Wolfgram Library at

Widener University Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. The university has three other campuses: two in Pennsylvania (Harrisburg and Exton) and one in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded as The Bullock School for Boys in 1821, the school ...

each possess one of the original windows. Perhaps D'Ascenzo Studios' most varied commission was for

Rodeph Shalom Synagogue Congregation Rodeph Shalom of Philadelphia, founded in 1795, is the oldest Ashkenazic synagogue in the Western Hemisphere. It is noted historically for its leadership of the Reform Judaism among American Hebrew congregations, for its spiritual i ...

(1927) in Philadelphia. The

Moorish Revival Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th centur ...

building was designed by architects (and brothers) Grant and Edward Simon, and nearly every surface in its sanctuary was covered with decoration. The studio designed its murals, twenty stained glass windows (including the glass ceiling of the dome), lighting fixtures, carpets, and even the bronze

ark Ark or ARK may refer to: Biblical narratives and religion Hebrew word ''teva'' * Noah's Ark, a massive vessel said to have been built to save the world's animals from a flood * Ark of bulrushes, the boat of the infant Moses Hebrew ''aron'' * ...

for the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

. The studio also created the mosaics on the synagogue's façade, whose colors remain vibrant after nearly ninety years. For the

Cathedral of the Air The Cathedral of the Air is a Norman-Gothic military chapel in Lakehurst, New Jersey, United States. It was conceived by Reverend Gill Robb Wilson, one-time national chaplain of the American Legion,aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

s, at

Naval Air Station Lakehurst A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

in New Jersey – the studio created a set of fifteen stained glass windows depicting the history of aviation. These ranged from

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

's sketches of flying machines to

Charles Lindberg Charles W. Lindberg (June 26, 1920 – June 24, 2007) was a United States Marine Corps corporal who fought in three island campaigns during World War II. During the Battle of Iwo Jima, he was a member of the patrol that captured the top of Moun ...

's 1927 flight over the Atlantic Ocean (only three years earlier). Lakehurst was later the site of the 1937

Hindenburg disaster The ''Hindenburg'' disaster was an airship accident that occurred on May 6, 1937, in Manchester Township, New Jersey, United States. The German passenger airship LZ 129 ''Hindenburg'' caught fire and was destroyed during its attemp ...

. In three pairs of windows (1940) for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, D'Ascenzo drew parallels between Biblical scenes and contemporary life. The "Press Bay" features Christ preaching and a modern minister at his pulpit; but also a printing press,

Samuel Morse Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872) was an American inventor and painter. After having established his reputation as a portrait painter, in his middle age Morse contributed to the invention of a single-wire telegraph ...

and his telegraph, a radio broadcast, and the invention of television. The "Sports Bay" features

Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

slaying the lion and

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

wrestling with the Angel; but also baseball, football, basketball, bicycle racing and other sports. The "Labor Bay" contrasts ancient occupations with modern ones.

Awards and honors

Carving from the early 1920s by john Kirchmayer

D'Ascenzo was awarded a medal at the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

in Chicago; the 1898 Gold Medal from the T-Square Club of Philadelphia; second prize for craftwork at the 1916 Americanization Through Art Exhibition in Philadelphia (Samuel Yellin was awarded first prize); and the 1925 Gold Medal from the

Architectural League of New York The Architectural League of New York is a non-profit organization "for creative and intellectual work in architecture, urbanism, and related disciplines". The league dates from 1881, when Cass Gilbert organized meetings at the Salmagundi Club for ...

. He exhibited at the

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

hosted a 1938 exhibition of D'Ascenzo's paintings, drawings and stained glass.

Legacy

Between 1904 and 1954, D'Ascenzo Studios completed more than 7,800 stained glass windows. The "Doubting Thomas" door at

Christ Church Cranbrook The Cranbrook Educational Community is an education, research, and public museum complex in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This National Historic Landmark was founded in the early 20th century by newspaper mogul George Gough Booth. It consists of Cra ...

in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan features a tiny bas-relief portrait of D'Ascenzo as a medieval craftsman. Wood carver

Johannes Kirchmayer Johannes Kirchmayer also known as John Kirchmayer (March 31, 1860 – November 29, 1930) was one of the leading woodcarvers in the United States, active primarily in the Boston area. Kirchmayer was born in Oberammergau, Bavaria. After learn ...

carved images of the various artisans who worked on the church. D'Ascenzo, his wife Myrtle G. D'Ascenzo (1864–1954), and son Nicola Goodwin D'Ascenzo (1905–1958) are buried in the churchyard at

in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The business records of D'Ascenzo Studios and sketches of many of its works are in the collection of the

Athenaeum of Philadelphia The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, located at 219 S. 6th Street between St. James Place and Locust Street in the Society Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a special collections library and museum founded in 1814 to collect materials ...

. Paintings by D'Ascenzo occasionally appear at auction.

Selected works

Religious buildings

*Church of the Evangelists (1887–88), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. D'Ascenzo began as a 16-year-old assistant painter, but later completed five murals on his own. Now the Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial. **Murals: ''Visitation of Our Lady to St. Elizabeth'', ''Nativity of Our Lord'', ''Wedding at Cana'' (after

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/Proto-Renaissance period. Giot ...

), ''Laying Out of the Lord'' (after

Fra Angelico Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro; February 18, 1455) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance, described by Vasari in his '' Lives of the Artists'' as having "a rare and perfect talent".Giorgio Vasari, ''Lives of the Artists''. Pengu ...

), ''Appearance of the Risen Lord to Mary Magdalene'' (after Giotto). *Mosaics and stained glass windows (1911), St. Francis de Sales Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Henry Dagit, architect. *''Ascension Window'' (ca. 1912), Church of the Good Shepherd, Scranton, Pennsylvania. *5 windows (1915, 1936, 1940), Trinity Memorial Episcopal Church, Binghamton, New York. *St. Mark's Episcopal Church (1916), Frankford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. *

, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. D'Ascenzo and his family are buried in the churchyard. **''Martha Washington Window'': ''The Abundant Life'' (1918), north wall (over altar). **''George Washington Window'' (year), south wall (over entrance). Depicts 36 scenes from Washington's life. **East windows – ''Revolution'' (1917), ''Patriotism'' (1917), ''The Union'' (1917), ''Democracy'' (1918) **West windows – ''Discovery'' (year), ''Bishop White Window'': ''Settlement'' (1918), ''Anthony Wayne Window'': ''Expansion'' (1921), ''Alexander Hamilton Window'': ''Development'' (year) **Other windows – ''Carrying the Gospel to the Ends of the Earth'', ''The New Birth and the New Freedom'', ''Freedom through the Word'' **''Washington at Prayer Rose Window'' (1953), bell tower chamber. **Mosaic: Bust of George Washington (1953), bell tower chamber. *"Christ in Majesty' tympanum, Fiske Portal (1923), St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The portal was designed by

Zantzinger, Borie & Medary Zantzinger, Borie and Medary was an American architecture firm that operated from 1905 to 1950 in Philadelphia. It specialized in institutional and civic projects. For most of its existence, the partners were Clarence C. Zantzinger, Charles Loui ...

. D'Ascenzo Studios created the doors (with ironwork by

) and the stained glass &

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statu ...

d wood "Christ in Majesty" tympanum. *''Dorrance Memorial Window'' (1924), Church of St. James the Greater, Bristol, Pennsylvania. Awarded the 1925 Gold Medal from the

. * 17 windows (1924), St. Francis of Assisi Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following the church's 2012 closure, the windows were removed and re-installed at Holy Cross Church,

Rumson, New Jersey Rumson is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough’s population was 7,343, reflecting a 3.1% increase from the 7,122 enumera ...

. *Two windows (1926 and 1927),

Trinity Church on the Green Trinity Church on the Green or Trinity on the Green is a historic, culturally and community-active parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut in New Haven, Connecticut, of the Episcopal Church. It is one of three historic churches on the Ne ...

, New Haven, Connecticut **Sermon on the Mount, David the Psalmist, and Moses the Law Giver **Angel Gabriel announcing his tidings to the Blessed Virgin Mary *Windows,

All Saints', Wynnewood All Saints', Wynnewood is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania located in Wynnewood, Montgomery County. In 2019, it reported 149 members, average attendance of 91, and $229,361 in plate and pledge financial support. The church's fi ...

*Interiors and façade mosaics (1927),

, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. *''St. Thomas Window'' (1927–28), St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Fifth Avenue, New York City. *''Good Shepherd Window'' (''Cyrus H. K. Curtis Memorial Window'') (1928), Unitarian Society of Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,

Edmund Gilchrist Edmund Beaman Gilchrist (March 13, 1885 - December 18, 1953) was an American architect, best remembered for his English-Cotswold architecture, Cotswold and French-Norman architecture, Norman suburban houses. Career Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvan ...

, architect. In 1930, Nicola D'Ascenzo Jr. created a glass mosaic surrounding the window. **D'Ascenzo Studios created 13 additional windows for the church (1928, 1930, 1944). D'Ascenzo and his family were members of the congregation. *Windows (1928), Independent Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, Alabama. *''The Second Coming of Christ Window'' (Great West Window) (1928),

Princeton University Chapel The Princeton University Chapel is located on that university's main campus in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. It replaces an older chapel that burned down in 1920. Designed in 1921 by Ralph Adams Cram in his signature Collegiate Gothic styl ...

, Princeton, New Jersey. *''Life of Christ Window'' (East Window) (1928),

, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan,

Bertram Goodhue Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (April 28, 1869 – April 23, 1924) was an American architect celebrated for his work in Gothic Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival design. He also designed notable typefaces, including Cheltenham and Merrymount for t ...

, architect. * ''Ten Commandments Rose Window'', ''Annunciation and Visitation Window'' (1929),

Riverside Church Riverside Church is an interdenominational church in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on the block bounded by Riverside Drive, Claremont Avenue, 120th Street and 122nd Street near Columbia University's Mornings ...

, New York City. *''History of Aviation Windows'' (set of 15) (1930),

Cathedral of the Air The Cathedral of the Air is a Norman-Gothic military chapel in Lakehurst, New Jersey, United States. It was conceived by Reverend Gill Robb Wilson, one-time national chaplain of the American Legion,Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst Lakehurst Maxfield Field, formerly known as Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst (NAES Lakehurst), is the naval component of Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst (JB MDL), a United States Air Force-managed joint base headquartered approximately ...

, New Jersey. *Windows (1931), Dwight Memorial Chapel,

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, New Haven, Connecticut. *Gideon Egner Memorial Chapel (1931),

Muhlenberg College Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg College is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Muhlenberg, the German patriarch of Luthera ...

, Allentown, Pennsylvania. *Larchmont Avenue Presbyterian Church,

Larchmont, New York Larchmont is a village located within the Town of Mamaroneck in Westchester County, New York, approximately northeast of Midtown Manhattan. The population of the village was 5,864 at the 2010 census. In February 2019, Bloomberg ranked Larc ...

. The church features a rose window over the altar, a great hwindow facing west, 2-panel side windows, and 3-panel

clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

windows, all by D'Ascenzo Studios. **''Rose Window'' (1931). **''Christ of the Resurrection Window'' (Great West Window) (1947). A memorial to church members who served in World War II. **Old Testament windows: ''The Good Samaritan'', ''The Prodigal Son'', ''Moses'', ''Abraham and Isaac'', ''Ruth'', ''Elijah'', ''David'', others. **New Testament windows: ''The Nativity'', ''The Good Shepherd'', ''The Sermon on the Mount'', ''Jesus Blessing the Children'', ''The Last Supper'', ''The Crucifixion'', others. *Windows (1934), Chapel of Saint Joseph's Seminary in

Plainsboro, New Jersey Plainsboro Township is a township in Middlesex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is centrally located in the Raritan Valley region and is a part of the outer-ring suburbs of the New York metropolitan area even though it is ...

. *''Jesus and the Samaritan Woman Window'' (1935-1937), Chapel of the Holy Spirit, Washington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C.

N.C. Wyeth Newell Convers Wyeth (October 22, 1882 – October 19, 1945), known as N. C. Wyeth, was an American painter and illustrator. He was the pupil of Howard Pyle and became one of America's most well-known illustrators. Wyeth created more than 3,000 ...

painted the mural over the altar, and

created the iron gates. *6 windows ("Press Bay," "Sports Bay," "Labor Bay") (1940), Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City. *''Conrad Weiser Window'' (year), Lutheran Theological Seminary, Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. *''McBrier Window'' (1930), First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, Erie, Pennsylvania.

Public buildings

*''Evolution of the Book Windows'' (set of 4) (1904), Hatcher Library,

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, Ann Arbor, Michigan. *''America Receiving the Gifts of Nations'' (mosaic frieze, 1916), Cooper Library, Johnson Park, Camden, New Jersey. The mosaic frieze is 9 ft (2.74 m) tall and 72 ft (21.95 m) long, and features thirty-eight lifesized figures. *''Ages of Man Window'' (1931), Paster Reading Room, Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C. Elsewhere in the library are stained glass windows depicting

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a priest ...

Portia Portia may refer to: Biology * ''Portia'' (spider), a genus of jumping spiders *'' Anaea troglodyta'' or Portia, a brush-footed butterfly *Portia tree, a plant native to Polynesia Medication A form of birth control made of ethinylestradiol/lev ...

Touchstone Touchstone may refer to: * Touchstone (assaying tool), a stone used to identify precious metals * Touchstone (metaphor), a means of assaying relative merits of a concept Entertainment * ''Touchstone'' (album), a 1982 album by Chick Corea * T ...

Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figur ...

, and other Shakespearean characters. *

Calhoun College John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) was the 7th vice president of the United States. Calhoun can also refer to: Surname * Calhoun (surname) Inhabited places in the United States *Calhoun, Georgia *Calhoun, Illinois *Calhoun, Kansas *Calhoun, Kentucky ...

(

residential college) (1933), New Haven, Connecticut,

John Russell Pope John Russell Pope (April 24, 1874 – August 27, 1937) was an American architect whose firm is widely known for designing major public buildings, including the National Archives and Records Administration building (completed in 1935), the Jeffe ...

, architect. *''Justice is the Queen of Virtues Window'' (1940), Lobby, Philadelphia Family Court Building, 1801 Vine Street,

John T. Windrim John Torrey Windrim (February 14, 1866 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – June 27, 1934 in Devon, Pennsylvania) was an American architect. His long time chief designer was W. R. Morton Keast. He trained in the office of his father, architect Jam ...

, architect. *World War I Memorial Tablet (1943),

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. *''Agriculture and Industry,''

Birch Bayh Federal Building and United States Courthouse The Birch Bayh Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, formerly known as the U.S. Courthouse and Post Office and as the Federal Building, is a courthouse of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, located in Indianapol ...

Commercial buildings

Automat An automat is a fast food restaurant where simple foods and drinks are served by vending machines. The world's first automat, Quisisana, opened in Berlin, Germany in 1895. By country Germany The first automat in the world was the Quisisana ...

(1902), 818-20 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. First automat in the United States. D'Ascenzo Studios created its interiors. *Horn & Hardart Automat & Cafeteria (1912), 1557 Broadway, New York City. D'Ascenzo Studios created the interiors and the stained glass façade. The facade was removed when the building was converted into a

Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...

in the 1970s. It is now Grand Slam, a sports and souvenir shop. *''Window of Commerce'' (1912),

Poughkeepsie Savings Bank The Poughkeepsie Savings Bank building is located at 21-23 Market Street in the city of that name in the U.S. state of New York. It was the third home of that bank, the first in the city, chartered in 1831 by William Davies, on that site. After ...

, Poughkeepsie, New York. Depicts

Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States. In 1607 and 160 ...

aboard the '' Half Moon'' and

Robert Fulton Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steamboat ...

aboard the '' Clermont''. *''Little Nipper Windows'' (set of 4) (1915–16), RCA-Victor Company Headquarters, Camden, New Jersey. *''History of Philadelphia Window'' (1928), Fidelity–Philadelphia Trust Company Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Simon & Simon, architects. The 25 ft (7.62 m)-tall window features scenes of

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

, the Signing of the Declaration of Independence, George Washington as President, the newly-completed

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...

; and portrait medallions of famous Philadelphians.

Residences

*''The Hunt Windows'' (set of 4) (ca. 1905),

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, New York City, design attributed to architect

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. Made for the Frank van Camp residence, Indianapolis, Indiana. *''Paul Revere Window'' (1923),

Cyrus H. K. Curtis Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar Curtis (June 18, 1850June 7, 1933) was an American publisher of magazines and newspapers, including the ''Ladies' Home Journal'' and ''The Saturday Evening Post''.Ingham, John N. Biographical Dictionary of American Business ...

residence, Wyncote, Pennsylvania. *''Dante and Beatrice Window'' (1927),

Philbrook Museum of Art Philbrook Museum of Art is an art museum with expansive formal gardens located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The museum, which opened in 1939, is located in a former 1920s villa, "Villa Philbrook", the home of Oklahoma oil pioneer Waite Phillips and his wi ...

, Tulsa, Oklahoma. *Thomas J. McKinney residence (1929), Buffalo, New York, James A. Johnson, architect. *''Canterbury Pilgrims Windows'' (set of 9) (1929), Study, Theodore Swann residence, Birmingham, Alabama. This was D'Ascenzo's largest (and most expensive) residential commission. The studio designed individual windows or sets of them for twelve additional rooms.Weilbacker, pp. 84-87. *''Caravel Windows'' (1931), Dining room,

Edward Bok Edward William Bok (born Eduard Willem Gerard Cesar Hidde Bok) (October 9, 1863 – January 9, 1930) was a Dutch-born American editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author. He was editor of the ''Ladies' Home Journal'' for 30 years (1889–1919). He ...

residence,

Merion, Pennsylvania Merion Station, also known as Merion, is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It borders Philadelphia to its west and is one of the communities that make up the Philadelphia Main Line. Merion Station is part of Lower Me ...

. File:Automat, ca. 1906 (6648420107).jpg, Horn & Hardart Automat (1902), 818-20 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. File:RCANipperGlass.jpg, ''His Master's Voice Window'' (1915–16), from inside the Nipper Building's tower. File:Cooper Library Camden NJ.JPG, Cooper Library (1916), Camden, New Jersey. Note D'Ascenzo's mosaic frieze behind the colonnade. File:LTSP Weiser window.jpg, ''Conrad Weiser Window'' (year), Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. File:Rodeph Shalom Synagogue.JPG, Facade mosaics (1927), Rodeph Shalom, Philadelphia. File:2010-12-22-Rodeph-Shalom-Sanctuary-North-Wall.jpg, Interior (1927), Rodeph Shalom, Philadelphia. File:Riverside Church 002.JPG, ''Ten Commandments Rose Window'' (1929), Riverside Church, New York City. File:Folger Reading Room.jpg, ''Ages of Man Window'' (1931), Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C. File:Dwight Chapel vertical.JPG, Dwight Memorial Chapel (1931), Yale University.

References

Sources

* Frederick E. Mayer
"Nicola D'Ascenzo: Craftsman,"
''The American Magazine of Art'', vol. 9, no. 6 (April 1918), pp. 243–47. * Obituary: "N. D'Ascenzo, Noted for Stained Glass," ''The New York Times'', April 14, 1954. * Exhibition catalogue: ''D'Ascenzo: The Art of Stained Glass, from the Collection of Hanley Switlik'', Rider College, Trenton, New Jersey, 1973. * Lisa Weilbacker
"A Study of Residential Stained Glass: The Work of Nicola D'Ascenzo Studios from 1896 to 1954" (PDF)
masters thesis, University of Pennsylvania, 1990.

External links

D'Ascenzo Studios
from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings.

from University of the Arts Library.
Nicola D'Ascenzo
from Live Auctioneers. * {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Ascenzo, Nicola 1871 births 1954 deaths Italian emigrants to the United States American stained glass artists and manufacturers Artists from Philadelphia Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts alumni University of the Arts (Philadelphia) alumni