The Union Church of Pocantico Hills

As we traveled up the Hudson Valley, I often told people of our visit to the Union Church of Pocantico Hills, an easy drive from Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate. Very few had even heard of it — and what a shame. A non-denominational Christian church attended by the Rockfellers when in residence at Kykuit, it contains an extraordinary array of stained glass windows. No fewer than nine are by Chagall — the only church windows he ever created — and one, a rose window, is by Matisse. Designed as a memorial to Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, it is the last work Matisse accomplished before his death in 1954. To me, however, the most impressive and moving of the windows is Chagall’s magnificent “Good Samaritan,” a memorial to Abby Aldrich Rockefeller’s husband, John D. Rockefeller Jr.

555 Bedford Road, Pocantico Hills. Tours, Tel. (914) 332-6659; Church office, Tel. (914) 631-2069.