The
Judson
Studios,
one
of
the
most
renowned
and
oldest
liturgical
studios
in
North
America,
is
responsible
for
the
creation
of
the
Donor
Wall,
Mausoleum
Angels
and
the
refurbishing
of
St.
Vibiana's
Cathedral's
stained
glass
windows
in
the
Mausoleum
of
the
Cathedral
of
Our
Lady
of
the
Angels.
Since
1897
The
Judson
Studios
has
been
a
family
enterprise.
Inspired
by
his
father
William
Lees
Judson,
award-winning
artist
and
influential
teacher,
Walter
Horace
Judson
opened
the
Colonial
Art
Glass
Company,
forerunner
of
The
Judson
Studios.
Joined
by
his
brother
Lionel,
Judson
moved
the
studio
in
1920
to
the
former
USC
College
of
Fine
Arts
at
200
South
Avenue
66
overlooking
the
Arroyo
Seco
in
Pasadena,
California.
The
landmark
building,
built
under
the
direction
of
his
father,
the
first
dean
of
the
college,
remains
home
to
the
studio.
Walter
W.
Judson,
great
grandson
of
the
founder,
has
been
president
of
The
Judson
Studios
since
1968.
He
considered
a
career
in
law,
but
observed
how
few
attorneys
he
knew
seemed
content.
"Then
I
looked
around
the
glass
studio
and
it
seemed
the
workers
were
more
at
peace
with
themselves
than
most
other
people."
He
has
taught
university
courses
in
stained-glass
craftsmanship
and
has
written
a
textbook,
Stained
Glass:
A
Step-by-Step
Guide,
which
is
dedicated
"to
those
who
are
willing
to
create
with
their
hands
their
most
beautiful
thoughts
with
living
light."
Throughout
its
history,
most
windows
created
at
The
Judson
Studios
have
been
for
religious
institutions,
churches,
chapels,
synagogues,
mortuaries
and
cemeteries.
"I
am
fascinated
by
man's
aspirations
to
live
a
better
life
through
the
inspiration
of
an
almighty
force,"
Walter
Judson
reflects.
"Maybe
that
is
why
we
do
so
much
religious
work."
There
are
notable
public
building
exceptions,
such
as
the
domed
skylight
crowning
the
rotunda
of
the
Natural
History
Museum
of
Los
Angeles
County,
designed
in
1913
and
honored
for
excellence
in
craftsmanship
by
the
Los
Angeles
Conservancy
and
the
Stained
Glass
Association
of
America.
One
of
the
most
prominent
examples
of
stained
glass
windows
crafted
by
The
Judson
Studios
is
the
window
depicting
the
Great
Seal
of
the
United
States
and
the
kneeling
figure
of
George
Washington
at
the
Capitol
Prayer
Room
in
Washington,
D.C.
Another
is
the
upper
level
of
the
Air
Force
Academy
Chapel
in
Colorado
Springs
which
contains
sixty-four
stained-glass
window
panels
that
fill
the
space
with
warm,
glowing
light.
After
the
1994
Northridge
earthquake
that
damaged
St.
Vibiana's
Cathedral,
the
Los
Angeles
Archdiocese
commissioned
The
Judson
Studios
to
survey
the
stained
glass
windows,
originally
made
in
the
early
1920s
by
the
Franz
Mayer
Company
of
Munich,
Germany.
They
carefully
extracted,
cleaned
and
restored
the
sixteen
windows
and
nine
lunetttes
before
installing
them
in
the
Mausoleum
of
the
Cathedral
of
our
Lady
of
the
Angels.
Judson
considers
the
windows
even
more
beautiful
in
the
new
setting
because
visitors
can
view
them
at
close
range
and
far
away.
"Wonderful
painting
technique...just
beautifully
made
windows,"
he
proclaims.
The
Judson
Studios
created
the
Donor
Wall,
which
is
built
alongside
the
Hollywood
Freeway
along
the
walkway.
The
wall
consists
of
a
series
of
eight
sets
of
angels
in
five
glass
panels
each,
for
a
total
of
sixteen
angels.
Each
diaphanous
angel
floats
to
a
companion
angel
and
is
hand
etched
into
the
glass.
The
names
of
major
donors
to
the
Cathedral
are
etched
into
a
separate
piece
of
glass
suspended
in
front
of
the
angel
windows.
Two
guardian
angels
holding
torches
are
carved
in
glass
near
the
entrance
to
the
Mausoleum.
Designed
and
etched
by
The
Judson
Studios,
they
remind
us
of
the
love
we
have
for
our
departed,
that
they
are
in
God's
care.
Walter
W.
Judson
hopes
the
work
of
The
Judson
Studios
becomes
part
of
the
"music"
of
the
Cathedral,
a
part
of
the
whole
now
that
"the
heart
of
the
city
is
becoming
this
great
church."
He
hopes
that
those
people
who
might
be
disconcerted
by
the
Cathedral's
contemporary
architecture,
"will
come
and
relax
enough
to
understand
that
the
angels
don't
sing
in
Latin,
and
churches
don't
have
to
be
Gothic."
"A
work
of
art
is
anything
supremely
well
done."
--
William
Lees
Judson
"The
true
test
of
stained-glass
windows
is
that
they
live
gloriously
in
the
sun
and
die
beautifully
with
the
darkness."
--
Horace
Judson
Learn
more
about
the
STAINED
GLASS
WINDOWS.
