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Restoration of stained glass window at St. James Church
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 The Tuscan-American Association, in collaboration with Progetto Firenze, dedicated its 1996 Christmas party to the collection of money on behalf of St. James American Church and the restoration of the stained glass mullioned window picturing Saint Catherine and Saint Francis. Originally, the window was in a small side chapel in the Carmine Church, which was the first American church in Florence – from 1881 to 1907, when St. James was built. In 1928 the window was placed in the new church, by the American architect Robert Carter. Restoration of the window was completed in 1997.
In 1998 the Timken Museum in San Diego purchased the central panel of the polyptych from the church of Santa Margherita in Castalpino, a small village in the Sienese countryside. The panel was originally believed to be the work of Bartolo di Fredi but recent research by Prof. Miklos Boskovits has attributed it to Niccolò di Buonaccorso.
Before buying the panel, the Timken Museum asked the Tuscan-American Association to look into the history of the painting about which little was known. The Association organized a conference led by Prof. Boskovits and his colleague, Prof. Sonia Chiodo, during which it emerged that the panel had been restored and re-touched several times over the centuries.
The Association arranged the production of a special video for the Timken Museum including highlights of the conference, images of the Church of Santa Margherita, other historical sites of the panel, and images of the Sienese countryside. Today’s visitors to the Timken Museum can view the video as they admire Buonaccorso’s painting.
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