NEW YORK, New York (WJW) – An old, stained glass window that once hung in the First Baptist Church in Canton has sold at auction for a record $12.5 million, according to Sotheby’s.
In a press release, the world-renowned auction house explained that The Danner Memorial Window is one of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s greatest masterpieces and was designed in 1913 as a memorial to John and Terressa Danner, founding members of the First Baptist Church in Canton, Ohio.
“The congregation decided to honor their fifty years of devoted service with a memorial window from Tiffany Studios commissioned by their niece for the church’s new building that was dedicated in November 1913,” reads a catalog note depicting the historic window. “It was highly unusual for a memorial to be created for living celebrants, but as John was 90 years old and Terressa 85 at the time, the window offered a beautiful reminder of lives well lived.”
See it in the slideshow below:
According to Sotheby’s, the glass masterpiece was pursued by three determined bidders over the course of a six-and-a-half-minute bidding battle. The window was sold to a Sotheby’s employee bidding from a telephone on behalf of a client, who the company did not name.
The $12.48 million price tag sets a new auction record for Tiffany Studios and doubles the window’s estimated value of $5-7 million, according to a Sotheby’s post on X.
“This work is more than a window; it is a luminous landscape that invites the viewer to pause and contemplate the harmony between art, nature, and memory. Such pieces are a testament to Northrop’s legacy, firmly placing her among the greatest glass designers of her era and ensuring her contributions continue to inspire generations to come,” reads a release.
The last time the window appeared at auction was in 2000. According to Sotheby’s, at that time it sold for £2M, or $2.5 million US dollars.
