Preview
Creation Date
Summer 1954
Description
Rose window by Henri Matisse, 1954
I don’t recall who first suggested commissioning a window in the Union Church at Pocantico as a lasting memorial to Mother but the idea was quickly and unanimously accepted by all the brothers and Babs. Alfred Barr [director of the Museum of Modern Art] suggested Henri Matisse; Mother had known him quite well and owned a number of his paintings and drawings…
It turned out to be his last work of art – the maquette was in his bedroom when he died. The rose window was a beautiful, simple, and appropriate masterpiece. We dedicated it on Mother’s Day 1956, and it reminds me of Mother every time I attend church in Pocantico. The sunlight streaming through it creates a wonderful radiance and feeling of joy.
David Rockefeller. Memoirs
