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AUDIO 7: Robert Sowers  Robert Sowers American, (20th century) The Chapel Fragment of the 1960 Modernist Glass Mosaic “Cathedral” When American Airlines Terminal 8 opened in 1960 at Idlewild Airport, now John F. Kennedy International Airport, a massive abstract stained-glass façade designed by modern stained-glass artist Robert Sowers adorned the facility. Fabricated of over 30,000 red, sapphire and white glass tiles organized in 900 panes, the 317-foot-by-23-foot translucent public mosaic provided aesthetic pleasure and functionality by illuminating interior space and insulating people from the intense heat of the south-facing building. Upon installation, the Guinness World Book of Records acclaimed it was the largest stained-glass work in the world, and for 48 years it formed a trademark of the JFK airport and a part of the New York landscape. In 2008, American Airlines dismantled the mosaic often called “The Cathedral” to expand the terminal. At the request of Museum Founder Michele Bechtell, the airline donated four panes to the museum sculpture garden. The remaining panes were donated to a few other museums and to a salvage firm that sold them to benefit Christian charities in Haiti. Other glass panels are displayed at the C.R. Smith Museum in Dallas and the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, New York. 2008 Gift to the Museum from American Airlines Previous • Back to List • Next |