Window illuminates College history
Editor’s Note: This article is the first of a series examining hidden artworks at Dartmouth. Tucked away in a tiny corner bathroom in Bartlett Hall is a spectacular stained glass window startles any visitor who comes across it unawares. Looking quite stunningly out of place with its surroundings, the arch-shaped window depicts John the Baptist and his followers in a marvelous array of colors. Inscribed with Eleazar Wheelock’s name at its foot, the window is bordered by an inscription of Dartmouth’s motto: “Vox Clamantis In Deserto Viam Domini.” What, might one ask, is such a window doing in a toilet of the Asian studies building? According to the College Archives, the window in question was crafted by John Ballantyne and Sons of Edinburgh and donated by a Mrs. Billings in 1893 in the memory of Eleazar Wheelock, the founder of the College. The notes state that the window was originally to be placed in Rollins Chapel, “but was never placed in the Chapel because of the small size of the figures.” More »
