The Woman Yesterday

Anne Van Derlip Weston (1861-1944)

By Abigail Blonigen

Anne Van Derlip Weston was born in New York City in 1861. She was given up for adoption at a young age and never knew her birth parents. Fortunately, she was adopted by George and Grace Van Derlip, wealthy art collectors, who provided her with a cultured childhood, according to Zenith City Press.

George Van Derlip had one of the best collections of American art at the time, according to art historian Wade Lawrence in a thesis provided by the family. He was such an esteemed collector that he helped form the Metropolitan Museum of Art and then became a trustee.

Weston grew up in the art world and attended Rutgers Female College, which emphasized the classics. Soon after she graduated, Weston began working for Louis Comfort Tiffany — of Tiffany and Co. fame — in the women’s glass department.

The women’s glass department was responsible for wrapping the pieces of glass in copper foil, according to Lawrence’s thesis. This gave Weston an intimate familiarity with the glass, which came in handy as she began to design her own windows. There is evidence that Weston worked her way up to the head of the department.

In 1888, Weston married Dr. John Burroughs Weston, and the couple moved to Duluth. Weston continued to design windows and teach art. Her most famous piece was her “Minnehaha Window” commissioned for the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893.

Another one of Weston’s famous works, commissioned by the Duluth Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1904, shows what Daniel Greysolon Sieur du Lhut might have seen when he first came to what is now Duluth.

The Duluth City Council has debated selling the historic windows on two occasions in 2008 and in 2020, but have voted against it both times. The windows remain on display at the St. Louis County Depot.

The Westons left Duluth in 1913, moving to a small town in the San Bernardino Valley in California. She did not design any more windows after that point, but did design the home the couple lived in, along with some tiles for their fireplace.

Weston continued to be active in the community, participating in the local women’s club and as a trustee of the library. She passed away September 8, 1944 at the age of 83. D