The Practical Artist
I recently visited the Morse Museum of American Art, which houses the largest collection of work by Louis Comfort Tiffany in the world. Tiffany, son of the founder of the luxury retailer Tiffany & Co., began as a fine artist and became an artisan and taste maker during the Industrial Revolution in the US.
Born to wealth, Louis (pronounced "Louie" like the French kings) Tiffany followed his own creative inspiration becoming wealthy and influential in his own right. He began as a painter, did interior design, and became well-known for the stained glass windows and lamps created by his company, Tiffany Studios.
Louis Tiffany was committed to expressing beauty in an age when hand-made objects were giving way to those made by machine. He thought that he could reveal beauty to more people by using glass rather than painting, so turned his attention to this medium. He made extensive innovations in the coloration of glass and its use as an art form.
Tiffany and his studio artisans became painters in glass.
Tiffany Studios produced windows for churches, newly rich industrialists, and World Exhibitions.A businessman as well as an artist, Tiffany made glass art in the form of lamps that could be purchased and enjoyed by the new middle class. Tiffany lamps ranged in price from $45 to $450 (approximately $1,000 to $10,000 in today's money).
The glass lamp shades were beautiful representations of flowers and dragonflies. The bases were bronze castings of plant forms. The bases and shades could be interchanged so that the purchaser could have the combination she wanted in her home.
Today the glass that Tiffany and his studio produced still beckons with its natural beauty, creativity, and superb craftsmanship. Tiffany fulfilled his vision of creating and sharing beauty through color and light.
