Where Windows Hold the Changing Light
Windows turn passing light into something we can see and feel.
More in the collection
View the collection
Daylight Entering an Empty Room
An open casement window admits a narrow patch of daylight into a sparse room with dark textured walls.
Openings Across a Worn Wall
A weathered stone façade contains closed wooden shutters, an arched upper door, a smaller lower door and flower boxes.
Rain Rewrites the View
Numerous rain droplets cling to a pane, sharply visible against blurred blue sky and green foliage.
Two Windows Under Slanting Sun
Two small arched windows with orange surrounds sit in a faded blue-green wall crossed by diagonal sunbeams.
A Moving Frame of Evening
A seated passenger appears in shadow beside a large rounded train window showing water, distant buildings and low mountains.
Color Suspended in Darkness
A circular stained-glass composition glows in many colored sections against a nearly black surrounding field.
Light Within the Stone Recess
Tall pointed windows illuminate a stone church interior, with patterned glass and sunlit masonry surrounding a deep recess.
A Small Opening in the Passage
A small open white window with potted plants appears in a rough gray wall at the end of a narrow passage.
Windows Across a Brick Monument
A tall red-brick church façade features arched windows, circular details, towers and a large central recessed window.
Alongside the photographs
All notesWeather on the Surface
Glass often disappears when it is clean and evenly lit, but weather makes its presence unmistakable.
Read the noteThe Window as a Measure of Time
A window can register time without showing a clock. Pale morning light enters at a low angle and stretches shadows across a sill; stronger midday light reduces those shadows and clarifies surface detail.
Read the noteFrames Within the Frame
Window construction introduces order before any subject appears beyond the glass.
Read the noteWalls That Hold Openings
A window is always shaped by the material around it. Rough plaster makes a clean white casement appear especially crisp, while a deep stone recess gives tall church glass weight and distance.
Read the noteThe Quiet Drama of Partial Light
Several scenes resist full illumination. A seated figure remains dark before a modest window, and a nearly empty room receives only a narrow wash from an open casement.
Read the note