#nativities

ADVENT CALENDAR DAY 12

Stained-glass panel with the Adoration of the Wise Men, made by Lawrence Saint around 1919. Glencairn Museum, Bryn Athyn, PA, 03.SG.356.

This panel from a Christmas window features the Adoration of the Wise Men. It is part of a two-light, four-panel window designed by stained-glass artist Lawrence Saint around the year 1919. Here Mary holds Jesus on her lap while the Wise Men present the Christ Child with gifts of “gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Gospel of Matthew 2:9–12). 

Lawrence Saint, who had his own stained-glass studio just down the road from Bryn Athyn Cathedral in Huntingdon Valley, worked as a glass artist for the Cathedral early in his career. He later became nationally recognized for his stained-glass work on the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. This Christmas window was originally located in Bryn Athyn Cathedral, but was later placed in storage, where it remained until it was rediscovered in the late 1980s.

Every day, from December 1 through December 25, a new work of Nativity art from the Glencairn Museum collection will appear on the home page of our Advent calendar (Follow the Star: A 2021 Advent Calendar). To receive these in your newsfeed, follow our social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr).

ADVENT CALENDAR DAY 9

Watercolor painting by Maud Petersham, from Woodstock, New York (1961). Glencairn Museum, Bryn Athyn, PA, 07.WC.1225.

This watercolor painting of the Presentation in the Temple, an early episode in the life of Jesus Christ, was made by Maud Petersham, an artist from Woodstock, New York. According to the biblical account, after Jesus was born Joseph and Mary traveled to Jerusalem to present their newborn child at the temple, as required by law. While they were at the temple, the Holy Spirit visited a man named Simeon and revealed to him that Jesus was the Messiah. Simeon then took Jesus into his arms, said a prayer, and blessed them (Gospel of Luke 2:25–35).  

Maud and Miska Petersham, a husband-and-wife artist team, were well known in the first half of the 20th century as illustrators and authors of children’s literature. Their illustrations were a special favorite with Mildred Pitcairn. This painting was commissioned by Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn in 1961, and was sent from Glencairn as their Christmas card that year.

Every day, from December 1 through December 25, a new work of Nativity art from the Glencairn Museum collection will appear on the home page of our Advent calendar (Follow the Star: A 2021 Advent Calendar. To receive these in your newsfeed, follow our social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr).

ADVENT CALENDAR DAY 8

Limestone relief of the Adoration of the Wise Men, 13th-century France. (Detail photo on top.) Glencairn Museum, Bryn Athyn, PA, 09.SP.119.

This limestone relief with the Adoration of the Wise Men was made in 13th-century France. It illustrates the biblical story describing these travelers, who came “from the East,” saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him” (Gospel of Matthew 2:1–2). 

During the construction of Glencairn, Raymond Pitcairn set this relief into the north wall of the inglenook in the Great Hall, where it remains today. All three of the Wise Men are represented as kings wearing crowns, in keeping with medieval tradition. The foremost king, whose arm is broken off, is shown kneeling to present a gift—either gold, frankincense, or myrrh (Matthew 2:11). 

Every day, from December 1 through December 25, a new work of Nativity art from the Glencairn Museum collection will appear on the home page of our Advent calendar (Follow the Star: A 2021 Advent Calendar). To receive these in your newsfeed, follow our social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr).

ADVENT CALENDAR DAY 7

Lampshade panel illustrating the Visitation of the Shepherds, made in the late 1930s or early 1940s. Glencairn Museum, Bryn Athyn, PA, 11.OP.02.

This handcrafted lampshade panel illustrates the Visitation of the Shepherds. According to the Gospel of Luke, “So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us’” (2:15). 

The panel is one of six scenes from the Nativity narrative decorating a Christmas-themed lampshade in Glencairn’s Chapel. The plexiglass shade was commissioned by Raymond Pitcairn in the late 1930s or early 1940s; it was designed and painted by Francis (“Frank”) Eugene Snyder (1908–1995). Synder painted the plexiglass with oils and other media in order to achieve the appearance and texture of stained glass when the lamp is turned on.

Every day, from December 1 through December 25, a new work of Nativity art from the Glencairn Museum collection will appear on the home page of our Advent calendar (Follow the Star: A 2021 Advent Calendar. To receive these in your newsfeed, follow our social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr).

ADVENT CALENDAR DAY 6

Stained-glass roundel of the Annunciation to the Shepherds made in 13th-century France. Glencairn Museum, Bryn Athyn, PA, 03.SG.240.

This 13th-century stained-glass roundel illustrates the biblical story of the Annunciation to the Shepherds (Luke 2:8–14). Here an angel with green wings and a purple cloak descends from a heavenly cloud, announcing to the shepherds that they will “find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”  

According to Professor Michael W. Cothren, “Medieval artists commonly used a wavy, arching band of clouds (frequently placed across the corner of a rectangular composition) to show a separation between the earthly realm below and the heavenly realm above. For example, when a disembodied hand of God emerges from heaven to command or bless a situation taking place on earth, it is often overlapped by an arching band of ‘clouds of heaven.’ Sometimes the face of God appears within the cloud band. Sometimes angels swoop down toward earth underneath or emerging from the clouds.” (“The ‘Clouds of Heaven’ Motif in Art Created for Glencairn,” Glencairn Museum News No. 1, 2021).

Every day, from December 1 through December 25, a new work of Nativity art from the Glencairn Museum collection will appear on the home page of our Advent calendar (Follow the Star: A 2021 Advent Calendar). To receive these in your newsfeed, follow our social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr).