When architects Hadley and Peter Arnold rescued a condemned church in Warren, R.I., they knew the 19th century building was something special. But just how special wasn’t clear until it was time to remodel the church’s windows.
Behind one of the protective storm windows sat the first public stained glass depiction of Jesus as an African American.
A nearly 150-year-old stained-glass window is displayed Monday, May 1, 2023 inside the now-closed St. Mark’s Episcopal church, in Warren, R.I. The nearly 150-year-old stained-glass window from the Rhode Island church that depicts Christ and three New Testament women with dark skin has stirred up questions about race and the place of women in both biblical and 19th century society. (AP Photo/Mark Pratt)
“This building was slated for demolition before Peter and Hadley took on the project. This window could have very well disappeared into oblivion, and we never would have known anything about it,” said Bob Dilworth, an artist and chair of Africana studies at the University of Rhode Island.
Local historians, artists and activists greeted the discovery with enthusiasm and worked with Hadley Arnold to research the window’s past and determine its future.
BNG first reported on the discovery in September 2023.
Now the 1878 stained glass is headed to a new home in Tennessee.
The Arnolds had been seeking a new home where the 12 foot by 5 foot artwork can be appreciated by the public, remain accessible to scholars and be preserved for posterity. They found a kindred spirit in the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.
“They said, yes, it’s important historically, yes, in the tradition of stained glass it is unusual, and yes, it is also a living, contemporary piece of public art that could occupy a place in the heart of our community on the banks of the Mississippi” Hadley said. “Of the many conversations we had with museums, that went right to my heart.”
The MBMA, founded in 1916, is the largest and oldest art museum in the mid-South. Located not far from the Civil Rights Museum, the museum has a tradition of supporting Black artists and museum curators. Memphis also is the nation’s largest Black-majority city.
Rendering of new museum space downtown
In 2025, MBMA will complete its move to a new 120,000-square-foot riverfront building as part of a downtown revitalization project. “Memphis’ new museum will be the beating heart of our booming downtown,” said Carl Person, chairman of the museum’s board of directors.
Featuring a theater and gallery space, the new facility is centered around a large public courtyard where the museum will display the stained glass window.
Executive Director Zoe Kahr believes the window will become a “pilgrimage site” in a city where churches played a vital role in the Civil Rights movement.
“The reason we are so excited about this window is the way it could become really the central work of art for our institution,” she said. “We needed the perfect work of art that would say ‘Welcome’ and ‘You should come inside, because there’s so much more to learn here.’”
Part of a collaborative web of regional museums, the MBMA partners with Art Bridges, a national foundation devoted to expanding access to American art for young academics and members of the community.
“The window is not only an important part of history, but a powerful piece of art,” Kahr said.
Although the window is leaving Rhode Island, research on its history and importance will continue in the state thanks to a digital 3D model created by a local specialist using a high-resolution LIDAR scanner. There are also tentative plans to install a life-size replica of the window somewhere in Warren.
“Neighbors are already talking about hiring buses to head to Memphis for the opening,” Hadley Arnold said. “This was crucially important to me from the outset; that even if the window physically departs Rhode Island, its traces continue to activate our minds, hearts and actions.”
Related article:
A surprising window into Black Jesus