28 October 2018

In the #IanPotterMuseumofArt at #MelbourneUniversity you’ll see all that’s left of the first #WilsonHallMelbourneUniversity, a great #GothicRevival edifice built in 1878-82 and mostly destroyed by fire in 1952. It’s all about the 6 days of creation. My closeup is of #Ceres (the Goddess of fecundity), and #Prometheus (who brought down the Divine Fire to man, this time as a female figure). Love the stylised hair.

Here’s the Gallery’s description :

“The Leckie Window was a donation from designed and created by #NapierWaller in 1935, and installed in the south wall of the north west transept of Wilson Hall at The University of Melbourne and unveiled at the Conferring of Degrees ceremony that year. Wilson Hall was totally [not totally, just gutted !] destroyed by fire in January 1952. The Leckie Window was the only major artwork to survive the fire and miraculously most of the glass was recovered intact. The most severe damage to the window was to the face and hair of Prometheus where the glass had been shattered. Stored for 45 years, it was extensively cleaned and repaired and missing glass replaced in 1997… as a major feature of The Ian Potter Museum of Art.”

The conservation was done by Geoffrey Wallace stained glass, who adds the opinion that Napier collaborated on this with his wife Christian, who was also a stained glass artist.

In the late 1920s Waller also did the huge south window at Wilson Hall, which was destroyed in the fire.

2024

More details from @pottermuseum, in the last pic Adam seems to be wearing a fetching sleeveless emerald gown. Update : the Potter has been closed since 2020 for expansion, reopening next year, and the window will still be on permanently display ‘in a totally new way’ whatever that means.

• artdeco