Welcome to “On the Block”: ELLE Decor’s new series where we spotlight one spectacular piece going up for auction. Get your paddles ready.
With most of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s stained glass windows, what’s on the other side of the panes is beside the point—the window itself is the view. The Stillman Memorial Window, heading up for auction at Sotheby’s, is, however, one of the rarest examples of Tiffany’s work: a window you can actually see through. Another reason for its $1.5-2.5 million estimate: It’s one of Tiffany’s few commissions for a residence, rather than a church or a mausoleum.
The window, created in 1903, was one of four commissioned by Charlotte Elizabeth Greenman Stillman’s four daughters, in honor of their mother, for the newly built library of the Stillman Wing of the Brooklyn Home for Aged Men and Couples, a retirement home. It is mostly made of transparent glass, with the middle panes almost entirely clear. The lower portion of the work features a garden of yellow tulips at various angles on bright green stems—as though they are swaying in a breeze. In the window’s upper arch, pale pink and lavender clematis flowers dot the glass, perched among green foliage.
Yellow tulips at the base of the window, over the translucent glass.
Jody Pollack, Sotheby’s chairman and co-worldwide head of 20th century design, attributes the recent resurgence in Tiffany’s popularity to the versatility of the masterpieces. “I’ve walked into interiors where I’ve seen Tiffany juxtaposed next to very classic Renaissance art or antiquarian material. I’ve also walked into rooms where I’ve seen it next to Basquiats and Warhols,” she says, “And it just works.”
In the case of the Stillman Memorial Window, she says, “every single hour, every single day, this window is transforming based on the light and what’s going on with the external landscape… It’s very interactive.”
Clematis flowers on the window’s upper arch.
The work comes to auction from Ann and Robert Fromer, two collectors who built a vast collection of Tiffany glass and decorative arts. It was in their Long Island home, where it faced the Fromer’s large gardens and the Long Island Sound.
The Fromer’s collection makes up a sizable portion of Sotheby’s dedicated Tiffany auction, taking place June 12. Titled “Masterpieces by Louis Comfort Tiffany, Featuring The Ann and Robert Fromer Collection,” the collection includes leaded lamps, favrile glass, and other objets d’art like vases and desk sets, all from private collections. Many of these works have been off the market for 30 to 40 years.
The Stillman Memorial Window at the Fromer’s Long Island home.
This auction follows the sale of the Danner Memorial Window, which Sotheby’s sold in November for a record-breaking $12.5 million—the highest price ever garnered for a Tiffany Studios piece. In December, Sotheby’s received $26 million in Tiffany sales in one day.
Says Pollack, “The demand for Tiffany is far greater than what we can secure in terms of the inventory and supply.”
Masterpieces by Louis Comfort Tiffany, Featuring The Ann and Robert Fromer Collection will head to auction at Sotheby’s on June 12, 2025.
Annie Goldsmith is the senior editor and digital lead at ELLE Decor, where she covers design, culture, style, and trends. She previously held positions at The Information, covering technology and culture, and Town & Country, writing about news, entertainment, and fashion. Her work has also appeared in Vogue, Rolling Stone, and the SF Standard.
