Charles J. Connick Stained Glass Foundation Collection

Charles J. Connick (1875-1945) was an American stained glass artist whose work may be found in cities all across the United States. Connick’s works in the Arts and Crafts movement and beyond uniquely combined ancient and modern techniques and also sparked a revival of medieval European stained glass craftsmanship. Connick studied symbols and the interaction between light, color and glass, as well as the crucial connection between the stained glass window and its surrounding architecture.

Connick founded his own studio in 1912 in Boston. The Charles J. Connick Studio performed work for churches, synagogues, schools, hospitals, public buildings and private homes in cities across the United States and in several other countries. When Connick died in 1945, the worker-owned studio continued as Charles J. Connick Associates under the supervision of Orin E. Skinner in Boston's Back Bay until closing in 1987.

The Charles J. Connick Stained Glass Foundation was created to preserve the Connick tradition of stained glass. At the same time, items from the studio were donated to the Boston Public Library's Fine Arts Department to form Charles J. Connick Studio Collection. In 2008, the Foundation donated its own collection of stained glass windows, designs, cartoons, slides, documents, periodicals, and other items to the MIT Libraries. The collection was processed over three years from March 2009 to May 2012.