Tree of Life window

The Tree of Life window is significant as the last window designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933) and for the meaning the artist assigned the window’s themes in his legacy. It is also the only known window that Tiffany designed in Florida. First conceived in 1929, the window was designed over the course of three winters at the artist’s winter home, Comfort Lodge, in Miami and completed in New York in 1931. Tiffany designed this finale to his window-making career to “be an everlasting inspiration to each successive group” of fellows studying at the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation he had organized at his Long Island estate to preserve his artistic vision and influence generations of artists to come. The completed Tree of Life window was unveiled May 29, 1932, on the north wall of the “large studio room” in the fellows section at the foundation. The composition of the window reflects a traditional medieval medallion format. The source is believed to be a twelfth-century psalter cover. The window’s six rondels are devoted to subjects Tiffany personally believed to be important in the instruction of art students. The left column medallions, Geology, Science, and Creation, dwell on earthly subjects. The right column rondels, Astronomy, Religion, and Entombment, represent heavenly and spiritual pursuits.