GEORGE WASHINGTON MAHER (1864-1926)
Lot 61

GEORGE WASHINGTON MAHER (1864-1926)

A LEADED GLASS 'POPPY' WINDOW FROM THE WINTON HOUSE, WAUSAU, WI, CIRCA 1905

Closed17 June 2010

Price Realised

USD 79,300

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GEORGE WASHINGTON MAHER (1864-1926)
A Leaded Glass 'Poppy' Window from the Winton House, Wausau, WI, circa 1905
in three parts
108 in. (274 cm.) high, 79 in. (200.5 cm.) wide, 1¾ in. (4.5 cm.) deep overall

Charles and Helen Winton, Wausau, Wisconsin.
Robert and Kathy Coleman, Oak Park, Illinois.
Tim Gleason Gallery, New York.
Acquired by the present owner from the above, 2007.

Specialist note

One of the leading practitioners of the Prairie School style of architecture, George Washington Maher trained with Louis Sullivan and went on to his own successful practice in Chicago. He is most noted for his 'motif-rhythm' theory where a cohesive living space was created through the repetition of a single motif, modified for use in both the architecture and furnishings.

This remarkable group of windows was originally designed for the Charles and Helen Winton House in Wausau, Wisconsin. Though the house was demolished in 1976, several windows were salvaged including this group from the stair landing. The central poppy--one of Maher's signature motifs--is combined with undulating vines around the border. Executed in varying textures of glass, the windows achieve a subtle, yet complex design.

The center panel, the most rectilinear of the sections, is now in the collection of the Chicago Historical Society.