We made this custom panel for a dining room in Greenwich, Connecticut with the architect Nancy Lovas. She came up with a novel solution for how to access the lights above; she put the steel reinforced panel on a mechanical lowering system typically used for chandeliers. I think she did a fine job illuminating this room with the combination of hidden up-lighting and obscured down lighting so there is no glare from direct bulbs.

Elements of this design were influenced by the leaded glass of Purcell & Elmslie. One feature consistent in most of their designs is the use of thin lines of glass punctuated with squares of more saturated color to frame the central motif. While their domestic designs bear the influence of Elmslie’s years as Louis Sullivan’s chief draftsman and designer, their designs for their midwestern banks had the most influence on this project. I was certainly thinking of their work and their color combinations as I made these drawings, even though my approach wasn’t as linear as theirs.

From the Madison State Bank of Madison, Minnesota, 1913: