Chagall Windows in Chicago

Last week, I visited the Chicago Art Institute with my friend Scott Tjaden of Tjaden Interiors. We made a point of visiting the stained-glass windows Marc Chagall created for the Art Institute in 1977. The windows are called "America Windows” and were made to commemorate the American Bicentennial in honor of the late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley. 

We were dazzled by the beauty of the deep cobalt blue windows.

Marc Chagall (1887-1985) was a modernist who was associated with several related art movements from the early twentieth century until his death. His art career took him from Russia to France, and later to America. His artistic curiosity seemed insatiable. Later in life, his creativity drove him to use media other than painting in oils to express his art. His works include theatrical sets, book illustrations, sculptures in clay and stone, ceramics, mosaics, and collaborations on tapestries.

Chagall began his work in stained-glass windows when he was already seventy years old. The medium of stained-glass lends itself well to Chagall’s love of brilliant translucent colour. From the age of seventy over a span of twenty years, Chagall created stained-glass windows enriching many buildings and churches in Europe, Israel, and America.  He created the windows of the Chicago Art Institute when he was ninety.