Bob and I have a list of places/things to do in the area that we have gathered via AI and maps that are posted around Tarrytown. Today, we drove a quick 3 miles northeast of the house to the Union Church of Pocantico Hills.
The Union Church was organized as a non-denominational Protestant church in 1915 and John D. Rockefeller was among the founders. The church was built in 1921 on Rockefeller owned land and financed by the family and other church members.
Over the years, the Rockefeller family commissioned stained glass windows by European artists to adorn their church. We paid $12 each to visit the church and see the works by Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall. The church is currently used for marriages, funerals, concerts, and some services.
is the back of the current stained glass window discussed below. The smaller window is the original glass that was once
in all of the windows of the church.
The first special window commissioned for the church was the rose window at the front of the sanctuary. This was dedicated on Mother’s Day 1956 in memory of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (1874-1948), a founder of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and an active member of the church. She was the wife of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
The stained glass window, which didn’t photograph well with the light shining through, was made by Henri Matisse. It is the last piece of art that he created.
Directly opposite the rose window at the back of the sanctuary is the first nave window created for the church by Marc Chagall. It was installed in 1964 in memory of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (1874-1960).
based on that parable from the Gospel of Luke
The remaining nave windows were also made by Marc Chagall and installed in 1964. Many are dedicated in memory of a member of the Rockefeller family or people important to them or the church.
who died in New Guinea on an anthropological expedition.
dedicated to Nelson Rockefeller (1908-1979) after his death.
The inscription, “Knock and it shall be opened unto you,” references the verse on the adjacent window (above)
dedicated to his son.
of Lillian Bowles and Eunice Turner,
sisters who had worked for the Rockefeller family for decades.
so as not to compete with the Matisse window that it is closest to. It shows the angel Gabriel appearing to Daniel and lifting him up to receive the revelation of reassurance and hope.
which symbolizes personal anguish and loneliness.
of the rise and fall of nations, the destruction of the temple,
and the exile of the Jewish people.
Peckish Travels 