Spring

Daniel Cottier

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Aesthetic movement witnessed a revival of stained glass, primarily in the languid figural style associated with the English Pre-Raphaelites. The stained-glass artist Daniel Cottier was an important conduit for introducing this style to American audiences, and his New York studios, which opened in 1873, produced and marketed art furniture, upholstery, stained glass, and other decorative arts. In this allegory of Spring—from a series of the four seasons—a young woman stands barefoot with a newborn lamb in her arms. A gust of wind animates her light gown and flowing sash. The conventionalized yellow and gold leaves and the flowers in the small rectangular silver-stained panes surrounding the figure complement her gown’s floral decoration, which is reminiscent of William Morris textiles.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art