Harry Clarke’s Geneva Window and the Irish Free State

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.

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

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.

The Wayfarer by Patrick (Pádraig) Pearse and The Story Brought by Brigit by Lady Gregory from Harry Clarke's Geneva Window (commissioned 1926, completed 1930) by Harry Clarke (Irish, 1889-1931) and Harry Clarke Stained Glass LimitedThe Wolfsonian–Florida International University

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.

The Wayfarer by Patrick (Pádraig) Pearse and The Story Brought by Brigit by Lady Gregory from Harry Clarke's Geneva Window (commissioned 1926, completed 1930) by Harry Clarke (Irish, 1889-1931) and Harry Clarke Stained Glass LimitedThe Wolfsonian–Florida International University

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 Wayfarer by Patrick (Pádraig) Pearse and The Story Brought by Brigit by Lady Gregory from Harry Clarke's Geneva Window (commissioned 1926, completed 1930) by Harry Clarke (Irish, 1889-1931) and Harry Clarke Stained Glass LimitedThe Wolfsonian–Florida International University

"The Beauty of the world hath made me sad, this beauty that will pass. Sometimes my heart hath shaken with great joy..." Patrick (Pádraig) Pearse, The Wayfarer

"They bruised his brow with their crowns of briars; They mocked him with every ugly thing; He that could shrivel them all with fire; He held his silence, and he a King!" Lady Gregory, The Story Brought by Brigit

St. Joan by George Bernard Shaw from Harry Clake Geneva Window (commissioned 1926, completed 1930) by Harry Clarke (Irish, 1889-1931) and Harry Clarke Stained Glass LimitedThe Wolfsonian–Florida International University

"Joan: O God that madest this beautiful earth, when will it be ready to receive Thy saints? How long, O Lord, how long?" George Bernard Shaw, St. Joan

The Playboy of the Western World by John Millington Synge and The Others by Seumas O'Sullivan from Harry Clarke Geneva Window (commissioned 1926, completed 1930) by Harry Clarke (Irish, 1889-1931) and Harry Clarke Stained Glass LimitedThe Wolfsonian–Florida International University

"Well the heart's a wonder; and, I'm thinking, there won't be our like in Mayo, for gallant lovers, from this hour, to-day." The Playboy of the Western World by John Millington Synge 

"And now they pause in their dancing and look with troubled eyes, Earth straying children, with sudden memory wise." The Others by Seumas O'Sullivan

The Demi-Gods by James Stephens and Juno and the Paycock by Sean O'Casey from Harry Clarke Geneva Window (commissioned 1926, completed 1930) by Harry Clarke (Irish, 1889-1931) and Harry Clarke Stained Glass LimitedThe Wolfsonian–Florida International University

"The dark curtain of night moved noiselessly, and the three angels stepped nobly in the firelight." James Stephens, The Demi-Gods

"Joxer's song, Joxer's song—give us wan of your shut-eyed wans." Sean O'Casey, Juno and the Paycock

Mr. Gilhooley by Liam O'Flaherty from Harry Clarke Geneva Window (commissioned 1926, completed 1930) by Harry Clarke (Irish, 1889-1931) and Harry Clarke Stained Glass LimitedThe Wolfsonian–Florida International University

"She came towards him dancing, moving the folds of the veil, so that they unfolded slowly, as she danced." Liam O'Flaherty, Mr. Gilhooley


"I know the great gift we will give to the Gail will be a memory to pity and sigh over; and I shall be the priestess of tears." George AE Russell, Deirdre

The Dreamers by Lennox Robinson and The Countess Cathleen by W.B. Yeats from Harry Clarke Geneva Window (commissioned 1926, completed 1930) by Harry Clarke (Irish, 1889-1931) and Harry Clarke Stained Glass LimitedThe Wolfsonian–Florida International University

"If I were to die tomorrow all I would ask from the world would be the charity of its silence." Lennox Robinson, The Dreamers

"I have heard a sound of waiting in unnumbered hovels, and I must go down, down, I know not where." W. B. Yeats, The Countess Cathleen

A Cradle Song by Padraic Colum from Harry Clarke Geneva Window (commissioned 1926, completed 1930) by Harry Clarke (Irish, 1889-1931) and Harry Clarke Stained Glass LimitedThe Wolfsonian–Florida International University

"Mavourneen is going from me and from you. Where Mary will fold him in mantle of blue!" Padraic Colum, A Cradle Song

"It's the pleasure and diversion of the world you'll hear and see in them Magic Glasses." George Fitzmaurice, The Magic Glasses

The Weaver's Grave by Seumas O'Kelly from Harry Clarke Geneva Window (comissioned 1926, completed 1930) by Harry Clarke (Irish, 1889-1931) and Harry Clarke Stained Glass LimitedThe Wolfsonian–Florida International University

"The widow thought that the world was strange, the sky extraordinary, the man's head against the red sky a wonder, a poem." Seumas O'Kelly, The Weaver's Grave

"There's Music along the river For Love wanders there. Pale flowers on his Mantle, Dark leaves on his hair." James Joyce, "On Music"

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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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