For more than 100 years, Tiffany lamps have been an icon of decorative art. Celebrated for their handcrafted beauty and known for their stained-glass lampshade, the Louis Comfort Tiffany lamp continues to grace museums and living rooms around the world.
Next, we’ll explore the brilliant history of this design to shine a light on its legacy in the world of lighting.
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was born in New York in 1848. As the son of Charles Lewis Tiffany, the founder of the jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co., Tiffany grew up surrounded by design and decorative art. This influence culminated in a career that spanned multiple disciplines. “I have always strived to capture the beauty in wood, stone, glass, or ceramics, in oil or watercolor, using whatever seems most appropriate for the expression of beauty. That has been my creed, ”he said.
Tiffany studied painting. However, in his twenties, he became interested in glassmaking after visiting a collection of Roman glass at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Tiffany was particularly drawn to the rustic nature of antique glass, a quality that contemporary glass artists rejected. For Tiffany, these imperfections weren’t just beautiful; they were the key to obtaining a striking color. “The rich tones are due in part to the use of a metal pot full of impurities, and in part to the uneven thickness of the glass, but even more because the glassmaker of that day refrained from using paint,” he said.
Inspired by this idea, he founded his own glass factory in Queens, New York. In addition to running the factory, Tiffany and a team of designers created Louis Comfort Tiffany and Associated American Artists, an interior design studio. As a decorator, Tiffany became popular with unique customers, from the wealthy to the President of the United States. After his successful time as an interior designer, he decided to dissolve Louis Comfort Tiffany and Associated American Artists and start his own glass manufacturing company: Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company.
Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company
Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company was created in 1885. As a glass producer, Tiffany experimented with the tone, texture, and even method. With the glass of Ancient Rome in mind, he strove to create colorful pieces without the use of paint or enamel. To accomplish this, he developed two major innovations: the glass Tiffany (or favrile) and the technique of copper film.
At the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893, Tiffany introduced Tiffany glass, a glass that she compared to “the wings of certain American butterflies, the necks of pigeons and peacocks, the wing covers of various beetles.” Unlike the iridescent painted glass of the past, Tiffany glass is made by mixing different colored glasses while hot.
Similarly, before Tiffany, stained glass windows were formed with thick lead rods welded together. Although durable, this method did not allow artisans to achieve complex details without the use of paint. In order to minimize contours and therefore eliminate the need for painting, Tiffany created a thin, flexible film that could discreetly connect pieces of glass without thick lines or obvious seams.
Tiffany used both methods when conceiving its most important design: the Tiffany lamp .
Stained glass lamps
In 1902, the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company became the Tiffany Studio. At this point, the company was already extremely successful and known primarily for its stained glass lamps, which were handcrafted by a team of more than 300 artisans. For over a century Tiffany was believed to have designed these pieces, but it was recently shown that artist Clara Driscoll was actually the mind behind the beautiful designs.
TYPICAL AESTHETICS
An icon of the Art Nouveau movement, the typical Tiffany lamp is made up of a bronze stand topped with a stained glass shade. Regardless of the technique used to make them, each screen exhibits meticulous attention to detail and an inherent interest in nature. Complex patterns and motifs inspired by flora and fauna are particularly prevalent; daisies and dragonflies are popular muses among Tiffany lamp artisans.
Like the designs that adorn them, the silhouettes of the lamps also often pay homage to the natural world. Many popular Tiffany accessories are shaped like trees, with the base, stand, and shade acting as roots, trunk, and foliage, respectively. Similarly, many of these stained glass displays have scalloped and irregular edges that are reminiscent of flower petals, butterfly wings, and other shapes found in nature.
In addition to nature, Tiffany Studio was also inspired by geometry, resulting in a collection of handcrafted lamps. Though less ornate than previous ones, these exquisite lamps are still equally adored. “Whether with understated, minimal accents or bold, elaborate elements,” notes the Chrysler Museum of Art , “Tiffany lamps complimented pretty much all the decorative schemes.”
Tiffany lamps today
Tiffany lamps went out of style (and even stopped production) in 1913 but saw a resurgence in the 1950s. Since then, they have become a collector’s item, appearing in private collections, auction houses, art museums. and, for some lucky ones, even antique stores, and flea markets.
“There are pieces on record that haven’t appeared in a hundred years,” says Tiffany evaluator Arlie Sulka. “I think they will appear. We are always on the hunt. In fact, I am having a lot of fun right now because we are discovering wonderful things. “
Louis Comfort Tiffany History – Louis Comfort Tiffany was born in New York City on February 18, 1848, the son of Charles Lewis Tiffany who founded the prestigious New York silver and jewelry firm Tiffany & Co. His father company founded in 1837 catering to the wealthy elite, presidents, and royalty such as Queen Victoria of England. At the age of 18, Louis began to study art under American landscape artist George Inness. In his 20’s Louis traveled widely in Europe and visited Spain, North Africa, and the Middle East. There Louis developed an interest in Islamic architecture and ornament, Romanesque and Moorish art, and Japanese ceramics. Growing up in such a wealthy family had enabled Tiffany to travel in Europe four times between 1865-1872.
On his return to the United States in 1872, at the age of 24 Tiffany began his first studies in glass and mosaics. Later his experiments with iridescent glass were conducted by exposing hot glass to a series of fumes and metallic oxides. Over the years Tiffany Studios would produce many stained glass windows, lamps and glass vessels using his famous “iridescent” glass.
Tiffany was inspired by Thomas Edison’s new invention, the incandescent filament light bulb. He was among the first to create a revolution in home illumination using his colored glass to produce beautiful commercial electric lamps. The effort was made for Tiffany’s artistic products to reach all economic levels sometimes at the sacrifice of company profit. Louis Comfort Tiffany introduced his style and left his mark in the U.S. by redecorating a number of private homes and public spaces. Mark Twain, Cornelius Vanderbilt and, the presidential White House are listed among Tiffany’s clients. Most Louis Comfort Tiffany lamps were made between 1895 and 1920. Tiffany is best known for his Art Nouveau style of free-flowing almost sensuous natural forms and designs. Many recognize his glass vases, windows, and lamps but he was also involved in interior design, furniture, rugs, ceramics, jewelry, bronze items, painting, and photography. Louis Comfort Tiffany was a visionary of Art Nouveau design. His items are prized and treasured both here in America and all over the world. Louis Comfort Tiffany was as skillful a businessman as he was an artist. Prior to being named the first Design Director of his father’s Tiffany & Co. in 1902, he managed a number of interior design firms and decorative art companies. His career spanned over 50 years including tenure with L.C. Tiffany & Associated Artists, the Tiffany Glass Company, Tiffany Studios, Tiffany Furnaces, and the L.C. Tiffany Furnaces. He died in New York on January 17, 1933, at the age of 85.
There are many companies that make Tiffany Style reproduction lamps and lighting in the stained glass tradition. These companies offer many traditional styles and newer contemporary designs as well. TiffanyLampsForSale.com offers the finest Tiffany Style reproduction lighting with the finest manufacturer and is an Authorized Dealer of Meyda Tiffany which has the highest quality standards, producing stained glass lamps and lighting fixtures that are sure to beautifully illuminate your home.
The early 20th century was considered a golden age for the manufacture of fine stained glass lamps for the home. The expert at the premiere of the time was Louis Comfort Tiffany, a painter and creator of stained glass, who decided to weld scraps of leftover glass together to create miniature versions of their famous windows. The impact of Tiffany on the design society was so great that nowadays colored glass lamps in general are known as Tiffany style lamps.
Origins
Stained glass windows had been used in churches since the year 1000, but it was not until 1885 that Louis Comfort Tiffany, a painter and stained glass designer, began the production of colored glass lamps. Tiffany made the screens by installing hundreds of hand-cut glass shapes, mostly pieces of her discarded stained glass windows, in a lead cabinet at first, then later in enclosures made of copper foil, according to the Association of Stained Glass lamp artists.
The earliest colored glass lamps were made of oil or kerosene and had urn-like bases and non-level curtains. Some first Tiffany lamps were gas, but when a collaboration with the possibility of Thomas Edison – the two met when the design of electric lighting for the first movie theater in New York City – Tiffany inspired to create the first Colored glass lamps using the new bulb filament, converted to many gas models.
Historians estimate that most of the 100,000-plus Tiffany-made colored glass lamps were produced between 1895 and 1920. In 1904, other companies, such as Duffner and Kimberly, Bradley and Hubbard, Handel, Pairpoint and Chicago Mosaic, as well as American Arts and Crafts designers Frank Lloyd Wright and Gustav Stickley, got into the car of the colored glass lamp.
With the onset of World War II, the popularity of colored glass lamps declined, only to experience a revival in the 1960s and 70s that continues to this day.
Styles
Most of the original colored glass lamps were created in the French Art Nouveau style of the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Art Nouveau style commonly integrates images of the natural world with striking colors. Some Nouveau Art lamp bases were made to resemble vines, tree roots or lily pads. colored glass lamps created in the style of arts and crafts, which emerged as a counterpoint to Art Nouveau, which include colored glass shades in geometric patterns, muted colors and bases for ordering squares of wood or ceramics.
Composition
Colored glass is made by mixing colored glazes for glass pieces and firing at high temperatures. Historically, translucent and opalescent stained glass were the two types of glass used to create the original colored glass lamps. Translucent glass is used to interpret a single image and / or a specific color. Opalescent glass, which was developed and patented by a Tiffany contemporary, John LaFarge, also a colored glass artist, is used to produce a multicolored effect.
The designers
Louis Comfort Tiffany is credited with being the first artisan to produce colored glass lamps. It is said that the inspiration for Tiffany’s lamps came when he realized the immense impact of the daylight coming through the colored glass – as with his stained glass – could be re-created using artificial light. On the other hand, experts believe Tiffany considered lamps as a way to extend their reach beyond the churches and public buildings in the homes of average Americans, although they are rich.
In addition to Tiffany, American architect Frank Lloyd Wright and furniture designer Gustav Stickley also created colored glass lamps during the year 1900. Other manufacturers, such as Duffner and Kimberly, Handel and Bradley and Hubbard, concentrated on the manufacture of lamps that imitated Art Nouveau styles that were very popular at the time.
Colors and Patterns
Over a span of 20 years, Tiffany invented four patented types of glass that allowed him to create bolder colors and a wider range of textures. At the height of its popularity, Tiffany had more than 5,000 colors at its disposal.
In 1906, Tiffany Studios offered 125 different patterns of colored glass lamps. Favorites included the geometric group, which featured triangles, squares, rectangles and ovals; Irregular upper and lower border lamps, which had an advantage that simulated a branch, tree or shrub; and the Transition to Flowers group, where the most recognizable Tiffany patterns meet: flowers, dragonflies, spiders with fabrics, butterflies and peacock feathers.
Many of Frank Lloyd Wright’s so-called Prairie lamps boasted patterns inspired by the sumac plant, which grew wild near Wright’s home in Illinois. Gustav Stickley Mission-colored colored glass lamps featured colorful geometric patterns and minimalist floral patterns in muted shades of tan, yellow and white.