PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF LA FARGE RESTORATION FUND
Snapshot : Newport Congregational Church Sanctuary
The exterior of the Newport Congregational Church may be dour , but “ the inside is like an Ali Baba cave ,” says Paul Miller , president of the board of directors for the La Farge Restoration Fund . “ It ’ s very exotic .” In 1880 , the growing congregation commissioned a comprehensive design scheme by Newport easel artist , John La Farge . The artist looked to Oriental and Neo-Byzantine schools of design to craft murals in encaustic paints , yes , but also windows in stained and opalescent glass — the latter an experiment for which he became renowned , Miller says . Over the years , the congregation shrank and moved to Middletown , but its vestry was committed to the preservation of La Farge ’ s work . The restoration fund was born and , since the 1990s , the nonprofit has spent $ 3 million on glass and mural restoration , architectural stabilization and systems upgrades . The work is ongoing , but the space already serves La Farge ’ s artistic progenies , from makers who rent space to Island Moving Company dancers whose production , Nature of Light , was inspired by , and performed amid , his masterpiece . — CASEY NILSSON