Louis Comfort Tiffany and the Tiffany
Lamp
"Color is to the eye as music is to the
ear"
Louis Comfort
Tiffany was born in New York City February 18, 1848 the son of Charles
Lewis Tiffany who founded the prestigious New York silver and jewelry
firm Tiffany & Co. His father’s company founded in 1837 catered
to the wealthy, elite, presidents, and royalty such as Queen Victoria
of England.
In 1866 at the age of
18, Louis began to study art under American landscape artist
George Inness. In his 20’s, he traveled widely in Europe and visited
Spain, North Africa, and the Middle East.
There
he 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.
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 Tiffany stained glass pattern windows, Tiffany lamps and
glass vessels using his famous "iridescent"
glass.
He began producing lamps after Thomas Edison suggested the
idea during their collaboration on the electric lighting of the first
movie theater, the Lyceum. But it’s also believed that he began making
lamps as a way to use up scraps from his window manufacturing
business.
Embracing the Art Nouveau style at the beginning of the 20th
century, he instructed his craftsmen to create elaborate lamps to fit
the new style.
Tiffany Studios sold many of their artistic products
inexpensively to reach all economic levels sometimes at the sacrifice
of company profit.
By his vision and energy, Louis C. Tiffany succeeded in
blending classical motifs with bold new techniques in glassmaking to
create a distinctive American art form, the stained glass lamp. The
demand for Tiffany lamps among today's collectors attests to the
lasting value of his work.
He shifted to organic motifs in 1900, when Tiffany
introduced the earliest model of the popular
Tiffany lamp original Dragonfly stained glass lamp at the Paris Exposition. Dragonfly items Dragonfly Tiffany floor lamps
The dragonfly motif was designed by Clara Driscoll,
Tiffany’s chief designer. Letters and diaries found in 2005 show she
was the head of his design team and paid over $10,000.00 per year in
1910.
Besides his stained
glass lamps, Louis 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 prominent clients.
Louis Tiffany is best known for his
Art Nouveau style
of free
flowing almost sensuous natural forms and designs. His stained glass
lamps are prized and treasured both here in America and all over the
world.
Many recognize his stained glass vases, stained glass window art, and Tiffany style lamps, not only was Tiffany involved with decorating with stained glass, but furniture, rugs, ceramics, jewelry, bronze items, painting
and photography.
Tiffany retired in 1918, but he kept a watchful eye on the
company. Nash carried on the business, but his later work, fighting a
rearguard action against Art Deco, wasn’t of the same quality. In 1928,
L.C. Tiffany severed all connection with the firm, withdrawing
permission to use his name.
We, at Smashing Stained Glass are dedicated to providing our customers with helpful design ideas, lighting information, and the finest quality stained glass at the best prices, with unparalleled customer service, and support to ensure total, and complete satisfaction with every purchase.
 We accept 
Smashing Stained Glass is an authorized dealer of Meyda Tiffany lighting. You can buy with confidence.
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