Design for a rose window

This watercolor drawing is likely for a window in the Baker Memorial United Methodist Church in East Aurora, New York. While the drawing shows distinctive shading, from rich to pale hues, the Baker window was executed in a bright palette, most closely matching the vivid colors at the upper right-hand side of the design. The tracery in the window is more bulbous than that in the drawing and the central scrolling foliate motif has been simplified. The central monogram, IHS, is a reference to Christ and was initially drawn with a cross; as executed, however, the monogram stands alone. The deep straight cuts marring the surface, probably made with a mat knife, suggest that at some point the drawing was used as a cutting surface in an active studio.