03/30/2026
It’s in!
In late 2024, Nzilani was contacted by about conserving a large Tiffany Studios window designed by Agnes F. Northrop titled “Mountain Landscape (Root Memorial Window)”. The window has an unusually well-traveled history. First installed in Omaha, NE in 1917, it was moved to San Antonio, TX in the 1930’s where it remained until 2025 when it was deinstalled by Stanton Studios and documented by Nzilani. It then, with all its components: over 70 brass covers and stops, a giant steel, hollow core frame and of course 9 beautiful, multi-platted leaded and copperfoiled panels - was transferred to our studios where we spent close to a year conserving it all.
Last week (as some of you guessed!) a small team from Nzilani traveled to Bentonville, Arkansas to work with their intrepid in-house art handling folks. We worked together seamlessly to fit all the parts together within a very short span of time after they safely arrived at CBM in a RH/Temp regulated art truck.
This Saturday, was the first day that the public was able to see it. We couldn’t resist swinging by on the way to the airport to see how people reacted to seeing it in person. THIS is why we do the work - when people look at the piece, they don’t see the countless hours of cleaning confetti glass with tiny cotton swabs and hxtaling glass shards back with tweezers. They don’t note that individual plates were removed on the back to access center pieces to clean and edge join them back together after years of debris and water deposits made the glass murky. And they certainly don’t think about our team in Hazmat gear, sweating in a custom containment unit carefully removing asbestos from the brass, frame and glass components so the people in the museum are safe to view the window up close. They simply enjoy it. And that's fine.
For those who do want to know more behind the scene conservation work, I’ll be returning this summer for some gallery talks. Over the next few months we’ll be sharing a few of our experiences, as well as an innovative display approach. For those who can…go see it in person! The museum is free every day, so everyone can have access to art… as it should be.
