A STAINED glass window by acclaimed Irish artist Harry Clarke that was originally commissioned for Notre Dame chapel in Glasgow's west end has just been unveiled at Kelvingrove Museum.

The huge, intricate work, more than four and a half metres high with 20 panels, was commissioned in 1923 by by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur for the convent chapel in Dowanhill.

The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin was installed in 1924 and remained in place until 1981. After a period on loan to St Andrew's College, Bearsden, Glasgow Museums purchased the window with assistance from the Art Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2002.

The window depicts the coronation of the Blessed Virgin as Queen of Heaven by Christ surrounded by angels and saints, and was the first of four windows made by the artist for the chapel.

It was commissioned to mark the 25th anniversary of the founding of the convent and as a memorial to those who died in the First World War.

The commission was possible thanks to the generosity of the post-1918 students, past and present, who wished to have a war memorial window installed to commemorate loved ones they had lost.

It is widely recognised as one of his most important works. When the piece was first exhibited in Dublin, before it was dispatched to Glasgow, it made such an impact that an article in the Irish Independent called for a halt on the export of such "native treasures".

The stained glass window is mounted on a wall, backlit by light boxes, in the study centre on the first floor of Kelvingrove Museum. The display is accompanied by a detailed digital interpretation that allows visitors to explore the story contained within the window and the history of Notre Dame Chapel.

There are also first-person interviews with sisters and former pupils of the teaching convent, among the first people to view the window, alongside Glasgow Museums stained glass conservator Marie Stumpff who worked on the conservation.

The display will open to the public on August 15 to mark the feast day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

To mark the unveiling the Kelvingrove one o'clock organ recital will feature specially chosen music, at 1.30pm there will be a small musical performance by former pupils of Notre Dame Primary and Secondary Schools and at 2pm a talk on the history and iconography of the window.

Sister Marie Gallagher who was a student and sister of Notre Dame said: "It's truly wonderful to see the window again, it looks stunning.

"I left school and went on to college and in those days it was residential so you stayed all the time and went to mass with the sisters every morning. The sisters sat in the front so if you were a student you were behind the area where you could actually see the stained glass.

"I don't think I actually ever saw it apart from being conscious that it was a fantastic colour of blue until I went back as a Sister of Notre Dame. I went back to that community in 1961 and then of course as a sister I could go right down to the front and I could walk round the side aisles and look at everything. I have a recollection of being struck by a marvellous story. I was also struck by the number of women saints in the picture. That was unusual.

"I think Kelvingrove is a fitting home for such an important piece of art, connecting the city of the past with the people who live here today. The display will also allow those who come to see the window to understand all that Harry Clarke was trying to convey when he created this beautiful stained glass window all those years ago."

Councillor Archie Graham, chairman of Glasgow Life said the the work is one of the objects asked most about by the public

He added: " It is also timely to open this important display during the centenary commemoration years of the First World War.

"Glasgow Museums logistics team, who constructed and installed the display frames and light boxes, said it was one of the most complex objects they've worked on. Looking at the window it is easy to understand why it is regarded as one of the best examples of the artist's work. I know the people of Glasgow and visitors from much further afield will come to Kelvingrove and delight in viewing this impressive work of art."