The present church edifice
of First Lutheran Church, Albany, NY, was dedicated in September
1954. The Friendship House, our parish hall and auditorium on the
State Street side of the property, was used for worship during the
25 years beginning in June 1929 when the congregation first moved
to this site from downtown.
The windows in the nave
were created by the Payne Studios of Paterson, New Jersey, who also
have branches in London, England and in Chartres, France. Their
artist who designed the work for us was Pere A. Bergethon. Mr. George
L. Payne, head of the studios, states that the windows would be
described as Georgian in type, adapted from that architectural period
in England and the Colonies. "The main background of the windows
are in lightly colored tints of glass on the light green side. The
subject matter is applied to each individual piece through the process
of stained-glass staining. The windows are, therefore, panes of
glass set in the wood bars of the window sashes. There are no leads
in this kind of work."
The backgrounds
surrounding the pictures is known as a grisaille pattern formed of
flowing leaf work with occasional gold stain applied through the leaf
pattern. And the combination of this staining gives an effect of tapestry
to the windows, appropriate for their Georgian light-colored interior.
This is in contrast to the full red and blue colorings of the Gothic
style of church work."
