Explore the story of the Geneva Window, one of artist Harry Clarke’s finest works, from its commissioning in 1926 by the Irish Free State as a gift to the League of Nations’ International Labor Building in Geneva to its permanent home at The Wolfsonian–FIU in Miami Beach. The window celebrates Ireland’s independence through the lens of contemporary Irish literature and is a masterpiece of 20th-century decorative arts.
Harry Clarke’s Geneva Window and the Irish Free State
In 1926 the Irish Free State commissioned Harry Clarke to create a stained glass window as a gift to the League of Nations in Geneva. What follows is the story of the making of the window, how it never made its way to Switzerland, and how it found a home in Miami Beach.
The year's at the spring: an anthonlogy of recent poetry (1920) by Harry Clarke (Irish, 1889-1931) and L.D'O. WaltersThe Wolfsonian–Florida International University
Harry Clarke grew up in his family’s Dublin church decorating firm where he trained in stained glass from a young age. After excelling in art school, he applied masterful drawing skills to book illustration and glass, creating intricately detailed imagery in both.
Dis Irel 1916 Easter UprisingLIFE Photo Collection
Clarke lived through a period of great turbulence as Ireland sought independence from Great Britain. During the 1916 Easter Rising, a revolt that left Dublin in shambles, his illustrations for a publication of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner were destroyed in a fire.
Clarke later memorialized the Easter Rising in the first pane of the Geneva Window with a poem by Patrick Pearse written the night before he was executed by the British for his part in the insurgence.
During Clarke’s short life, nationalism and the Celtic Revival, a movement seeking a modern Irish identity through a focus on its ancient past and native language, prevailed. Through the imagery and fifteen writers selected, Clarke explored these ideas in the Geneva Window.
By Gjon MiliLIFE Photo Collection
Dublin’s Abbey Theatre was also deeply influential, serving as a nexus for poets, playwrights, and authors, many of whom Clarke knew personally and included in the Geneva Window. W.B. Yeats, who guided Clarke in the selection of writers, was one of the founders of the Abbey.
Stained glass window, For the International Labor Building, League of Nations, Geneva (never installed) (commissioned 1926, completed 1930) by Harry Clarke (Irish, 1889-1931) and Harry Clarke Stained Glass LimitedThe Wolfsonian–Florida International University
Clarke, an internationally regarded book illustrator, expertly transferred his drawing skills to stained glass, producing fluid imagery unusual in a medium known for its formality. He achieved nuanced detail and rich color through layers of acid-etched colored class.
For each author selected, Clarke created a vignette illustrating a single work. Many were key figures in the Irish Literary Revival; Synge’s Playboy of the Western World, for example, is considered a quintessentially Irish story, with its tragedy, humor, and eloquence.
The completed window nonetheless stirred controversy when presented to the Irish government. In one example, officials were disturbed by the way the eponymous playboy’s tight breeches emphasized his “virility.”
Many of the vignettes caused consternation. The “diaphanous gown” in this scene from Liam O’Flaherty’s Mr. Gilhooly scandalized viewers. Nudity abounds in the panels, as does the implication of sexual encounter.
Alcohol was also a problem. Multiple panels, including this scene from Juno and the Paycock, pay homage to the role of liquor in Irish literature. While the play was popular with audiences at the Abbey Theatre, this was not the vision of Ireland the government wished to project.
Religion also caused trouble. In response to the presence of Protestant writers in the window, President W. T. Cosgrave stated, “the inclusion of scenes from certain authors as representative of Irish literature and culture would give grave offense to many of our people.”
James Joyce was one of those “certain authors,” was considered morally corrupt by much of Ireland’s social, political, and religious leadership. His Ulysses had already been banned for its sexual content.
Ultimately, the Irish government rejected the window, refusing to install it in Geneva on the basis that it did not project the desired image of a modern Irish identity. This crushing blow deeply affected an already ill Clarke who died shortly after completing the commission.
Unititled (Portrait of Margaret Clarke) (1915 circa) by Harry Clarke (Irish, 1889-1931)The Wolfsonian–Florida International University
His wife, the painter Margaret Clarke, took over running the studio, buying back the window at the price the government had paid for
Installation view, Art and Design in the Modern Age by Harry Clarke (Irish, 1889-1931) and Lynton Gardiner, photographer, 2013The Wolfsonian–Florida International University
In the 1980s, The Fine Arts Society, a London gallery, exhibited the window on behalf of Harry Clarke’s sons. Museum founder Mitchell “Micky” Wolfson, Jr. purchased the window for The Wolfsonian–FIU in Miami Beach where it has now found a permanent home.
The Wolfsonian receives ongoing support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; and the City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council.
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