Design for landscape window
Not on view
For this window, Northrop envisioned an asymmetrical design of a flowering fruit tree whose branches hang over an orange sky; purple mountains; and a stand of lilies, one of her signature floral motifs. The composition is crowned with the phrase “For they shall see God,” suggesting that it may have been a memorial window for a church or mausoleum, though no details of the commission are known. An alteration to the drawing hints at how such designs were employed in the process of making stained-glass windows. A rectangular section of paper has been inserted below the rounded arch at the top of the composition, lengthening the window and increasing the number of leaves on the tree. This insertion suggests that Northrop may have altered the drawing’s size to scale up to the height specifications of the client, as adding a panel would have been more expedient than creating a new watercolor design.
