Floral window, c. 1884
Samuel Jones Tilden house, New York City, 1845–present
Leaded glass Donald MacDonald, British, 1841–1916 33 x 21 in. (GL-021-65)
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Donald MacDonald (1841–1916) studied glass painting in London before immigrating to America in 1868. In 1872, MacDonald became a partner at Boston’s William J. McPherson & Co., and in 1876 opened a studio under his own name. MacDonald fabricated his own window designs as well as those by other notable designers. The Morse’s MacDonald window was made for the fashionable Gramercy Park home of Samuel Tilden (1814–86), the twenty-fifth governor of New York. MacDonald’s commission included a 200-square-foot leaded-glass dome for the library. The window was removed after the Tilden home was renovated in 1906 to house the National Arts Club.