Donald MacDonald (craftsman)

Donald MacDonald was an early stained glass artist and craftsman of Boston.

Donald MacDonald was born in Glasgow and trained as a glass painter in London during the 1860s. In 1868 he was urged to immigrate to America and join the studio of J. William McPherson & Co. in Boston. His skill and dedication to his craft made him sought after by progressive architects of the day. During the 1870s, he was a leading exponent of the British Design Reform Movement, creating alternatives to the conventional Gothic revival stained glass of the day. MacDonald took over the McPherson studio in 1888 and changed its name to his own.

Works

Donald MacDonald has two windows in Harvard's Memorial Hall, one in the entrance hall and another in the main hall.[1] He also created a unique stained glass dome in the National Arts Club in New York City, a 19th century landmark building. In addition, he has several windows at windows at Dartmouth College. He made the memorial window for President Bennet Tyler, which depicts the Apostle Paul. He also is responsible to the President Nathan Lord memorial window, depicting Moses, as well as the President Asa Dodge Smith memorial window. He also created and executed the main stained glass window above the chancel in the Arnot Memorial Chapel at Trinity Church in Elmira, New York.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Stained Glass Tours: Boston" by Orin Skinner, Stained Glass: The Magazine of the Stained Glass Association of America, Vol. 60, No. 2, Summer 1965, J.G. Lloyd, Ed., page 7
  2. ^ Arnot Memorial Chapel - Affection's Tribute to the Departed, The New York Times, November 24, 1882, page 5