Mosaic exhibit explores history of Faith Chapel's Tiffany window

Jun. 14—The Tiffany window in Jekyll Island's Faith Chapel is the compilation of thousands of tiny artistic choices from numerous creative minds.

Visitors to the island this summer are encouraged to try their own hand at contributing to the creation of such a masterpiece and to explore the window's history at the newly installed exhibit in the Mosaic museum. The exhibit is part of the celebration of the centennial of the famous Tiffany window on Jekyll.

The window was installed in Faith Chapel in the historic district in 1921, in honor of Frederick Bourne after his death. His family and friends, many of whom were members of the Jekyll Island Club around the turn of the 20th century and who annually spent the winter months on the island with some of America's wealthiest families, commissioned the stained glass window.

"This is the story of the window," said Andrea Marroquin, museum curator for Jekyll Island Authority, during a recent walk-through of the free exhibit, located in the lobby of the Mosaic. "We have some great interactives here. As you first come in the door, we have a reproduction of the window that people can interact with creatively and put their own spin on how they would like to have colored the window."

Activities in the exhibit also explore the composition of the glass and the methods used to create colors.

"This is a nice, fun for all ages event," Marroquin said. "And of course we want to encourage people to see the real thing because this is just a representation. They can go to Faith Chapel and see the original."

The Mosaic exhibit, which will be on display through September, includes a timeline of the window's creation and installation as well as information about Louis Comfort Tiffany, owner of the studio that created the window.

"There is a club register here that shows that Tiffany was actually here on the island long before he ever produced the window," Marroquin said.

The exhibit also includes the original rendering of the concept design, which is rarely found in the same location as the completed window.

"We had a great donation from descendants of Frederick Gilbert Bourne, who was the one who the window was created in honor of after his death," Marroquin said. "And his family was very connected to the island."

Bourne's portrait is displayed at the Mosaic along with information about his personal and professional background. Bourne gained his wealth and fame as the president of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. He also served as president of the Jekyll Island Club.

The exhibit features a closer look at the studio process of creating a stained glass window like the one in Faith Chapel.

"It's amazing," Marroquin said. "You can see that once they have the design in place, they had to recreate that same design on a large scale."

Tiffany's studio employees used small pieces of glass to create the larger picture, piecing together each portion of glass and selecting the perfect colors each step of the way.

"It's a really artistic piece," Marroquin said.

The exhibit at the Mosaic condenses the story of the window and the people who contributed to its creation into a beautiful and intriguing exploration of its history.

"If you want more in depth, there's certainly more that you can go and discover at the chapel," Marroquin said. "There will be some additional programming coming up this fall."

She encouraged island visitors to take advantage of the opportunity to get involved in this celebration of Jekyll history.

"We really wanted to raise awareness of the centennial and the celebration, so that people are aware that we have this great masterpiece here on Jekyll Island that they may not otherwise have an opportunity to see," she said. "This is the place where people can come and find out what there is to see and do, and then they can go off on their explorations from here."

To learn more about tour opportunities at Faith Chapel, please visit jekyllisland.com/history/faith-chapel-tours.