Dan's Papers - June 22, 2007 - A Timeless Tiffany

My first encounter with an authentic Tiffany Lamp was that of a family friend. As an avid art collector and enthusiast, he surrounded himself with beautiful objects containing imbedded histories. The 19th Century lamp rested on his desk and became the centerpiece of his apartment. I am forever grateful to Walter, as he sparked my interest and admiration of Louis Comfort Tiffany's works.

To gain some insight into the creation and popularity of Tiffany lamps and the artist himself, it's important to understand their backgrounds. Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) was one of the most influential American artists, with a 50-year career spanning between the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. Trained as a technical painter in New York and Paris, his talents were beautifully expanded into many artistic mediums. Such areas in which he explored and produced famous works of art and design were windows, stained glass, mosaics, vases, pottery, metalwork, jewelry, enamels, interiors, and lighting.

Regarding Tiffany's advances of the stained glass medium, the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Louis Comfort Tiffany and Laurelton Hall - An Artist's Country Estate exhibition explains such mastery (www.metmuseum.org).

"Of all of Tiffany's artistic endeavors, stained glass brought him the greatest recognition. Tiffany and his early rival, John La Farge, revolutionized the look of stained glass. Prior to their involvement in the medium, the craft had remained essentially the same since medieval times, utilizing flat panes of white and colored glass with details of ornament, modeling, light, and shadow painted on the panes with either enamels or dark opaque glass paints, and then fired before leading." With an extensive career, Tiffany's glass designs appear nationally and internationally in churches, schools, and buildings.

Tiffany first explored commercial lamp production in 1895, as this became his most popular artistic endeavor. At the height of its production, his factory employed over 300 craftsmen, but his style still prevails present day. Working in combination with glassmakers and chemists, the lampshades and later leaded-glass lamps came alive. As said on the Albany Institute of Art History's website (www.albanyinstitute.org), "Tiffany's lampshades, dubbed 'glowing fantasies' by Seigfried Bing, the Parisian-based art dealer and inventor of the term Art Nouveau, were a commercial success and Tiffany Studios' Price List of 1906 records over 125 designs for shades. Like his Favrile art glass, they took top prizes at all the major World's Fairs and Expositions during the first decade of the 20th Century."

In a way, Tiffany "painted" with his usage of color and shapely glass arrangements. With such vibrancy, light illuminates through the lampshades, creating a sense of atmosphere and beauty. With that said, it's time to consider a Tiffany-esque piece in your home. Whether you would like a reading lamp in your study, a decorative lampshade hanging over your kitchen table, or a delicate light source on your coffee table, bring color and sophistication into your space.

As written in Anna Rohleder's "Collecting Tiffany Lamps" article in Forbes Magazine (2001), she mapped out a specific guide of lamp acquisitions. Many blown glass lampshades start at $8,000 whereas geometric designed leaded lamps begin at $10,000. However, floral motif lamps can range from $15,000 to $20,000. As highlighted in Rohleder's article, Greg Kuharic of Sotheby's 20th Century decorative arts department, explained, "Signatures are unreliable. You have to know the material and do your homework." Because interest in Tiffany lamps increased in recent years, so do the knock-offs. In other words, only buy from a reputable auction house and/or dealer. In the case that you would like to own a known replica, you can purchase Tiffany style lamps in many lighting stores and the Internet.

Let Tiffany's light source shine on (in whatever form) and surround yourself by beautiful things - you deserve it!