American artist Louis Comfort Tiffany started his career as a painter then moved on to the medium of stained glass. His studio, Tiffany Studios, designed hundreds of stained glass lamps between the years of 1890 & 1930.
An icon of the Art Nouveau movement, a typical Tiffany lamp is composed of a bronze stand topped with a stained glass shade.
These iconic stained glass lamps, were created by soldering together small pieces of colored glass to create floral, fauna, and geometric patterns. Tiffany and his staff of talented artists, many of whom were woman, often took inspiration from the theme of nature.
The design and production of lampshades was primarily accomplished within the Women’s Glass Cutting Department. Tiffany established the department at his studio in 1892, allowing women for the first time to cut and select glass for windows and mosaics alongside the men in his studio. Tiffany employed six women at his glasshouse in Corona, New York. By 1897, Tiffany had between forty and fifty women employed in his glass workshop.
Today we will explore one of the 6 lamps on loan from The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass. These magnificent works are on view at the Nassau County Museum of Art as part of our La Belle Époque exhibition.
3 авг 2021
