This may be a long shot, but so many people post here, it’s possible someone here will be able to help me.
I’ve been proofing our church’s new webpage, and I found some inaccuracies in the article on our stained glass windows. Two of the windows have been identified as depicting deceased parishioners Marion Myrick and Alice Fagen. These are actually the people to whom the windows were DEDICATED. The Myrick window was easy to identify, as it’s a classic image of St. Cecilia (and, in fact, I’ve always known it as the “St. Cecilia” window…our choir even uses it in our brochures). All it took was a brief 'net search to find the painting it was based on.
The Fagen window is proving a challenge, however. I don’t recognize the image. As all of the windows are based on classical images, I’m hoping that someone here may recognize the saint depicted in the window (I did say it was a long shot!)
Anyway, below are two views of the window…one a closeup of the saint and the other a fuller view (just in case any of the other imagery in the window might provide a clue). If you recognize the picture of the saint, please let me know, so I can be sure our history is accurate!
Don’t know … But there is some genealogical information about Alice Stafford Fagen here, from members of her descended family. Maybe one of them might be able to supply you with the name of her favorite saint.
The organ has been “cropped” from our window, so I didn’t have one of the more common symbols associated with the saint to identify her, but I’m fairly certain this is yet another depiction of St. Cecilia!
And I just realized that the first jpg I linked to was actually for the image that inspired the other St. Cecilia window (it’s actually identical). This is the one I’d intended to link to (I’ve fixed it in my previous post as well):
Yeah, see my added info. The oil painting is 1891. Apparently, there was a copyright to-do over the painting, and photos were circulating in the US as early as 1892.
It seems that Naujok sold the painting into private hands. I’m guessing that after 2 wars and a change of country in Königsberg, the original may be long gone by now.
This is so cool. Thanks for helping us solve a mystery!
I knew that there was no way that image “depicted” Alice Fagen…no offense intended to the lady herself, but even without taking the halo into consideration, we just don’t do that. I’m sure she’d be appalled at the suggestion that it was HER image in the window. I’m surprised the historian didn’t do his research a bit more carefully.
Well, it’s probably some lovely Prussian Fräulein who sat for Herr Naujok.
Here’s the only biographical snippet I could find on the net (translation mine):
Gustav Naujok war Bildnis- , Figuren- und Landschaftsmaler in Königsberg i. Pr. Geboren ist Naujok am 28.12. 1861 in Götzendorf seine malerische Ausbildung erhielt Naujok auf der Kunstakademie in Königsberg.
Gustav Naujok was a figure, portrait, and landscape painter in Königsberg (East Prussia). Born 28 December 1861 in Götzendorf. Naujok received his painting education at the Art Academy in Königsberg.
There’s a certain delicious pleasure in thinking that we have two St. Cecilias in the church. Calvary has had a rich musical tradition from its earliest beginnings, and we still have the best classical church choir in the area. Music R Us!
Right when our church was commisioning a set of stained glass windows on the life of St. Francis, two young teenage boys in our parish died in accidents. This was all so very sad and their images were edited into the window of the Pope creating the order of the Franciscans. Now the pope and St. Francis are still the focal point of image and the two young boys are two of the 12 followers of St. Francis. They’re definitely background images.
Most likely!