Lillian Nassau Gallery in New York
staging comprehensive show
of Tiffany Lamps from March 26 - June 14:
Louis Comfort Tiffany and His Lamps:
Genius of Illumination
...Will be a comprehensive exhibition that covers the full range
of Louis Comfort Tiffany's lamp production from the 1890's through the 1920's.
NEW YORK Feb 5 - Prize-winning author and professor Martin Eidelberg said in THE LAMPS OF LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY (Vendome Press, 2005) "Louis Comfort Tiffany's lamps are emblems of an opulent age. The deep, rich color and interesting textural effects of the glass, and the beautifully patinated bronze of the bases, all proclaim an extraordinary artistic vision."
While the son of the acclaimed Fifth Avenue merchant began his career as an interior decorator, working closely with architects to help fashion virtually every aspect of an interior's surface decoration, his legacy is far more associated with the opulently colored lamps he created between the 1890's and the 1920's. In fact, generations of collectors, ranging from rock and roll icons to Hollywood legends and virtually every major museum dealing with 20th century decorative art, have sought to acquire the most colorful and vibrant examples, pushing values into the seven figures.
From March 26th to June 14th New York's LILLIAN NASSAU gallery (www.lilliannassau.com) will stage a comprehensive show of Tiffany Lamps "that demonstrates the full range of Louis Comfort Tiffany's (1848-1933) genius," according to Arlie Sulka, who recently took over the famed East 57th Street gallery.
LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY AND HIS LAMPS: Genius of Illumination will be an exhibition of more than a dozen Tiffany lamps created between the 1890's and 1920's and ranging in price from $10,000 to over $1 million.
"New collections are being formed every day," Sulka says. "Over the past five years we've seen the market experience strong growth, with vibrant colors and strong floral designs being the most sought-after examples. Serious collectors like to decorate their homes around their Tiffany collection. We have many collectors with multi-million dollar Tiffany collections. Few are in the public eye as today's collectors tend to be bankers, doctors, lawyers, real estate developers, and business entrepreneurs. Many take the time to become extremely knowledgeable about Tiffany's works. New collectors are not afraid to begin and are finding entry level Tiffany geometric design lamps for under $20,000."
It was Sulka's mentor, Lillian Nassau, who introduced earlier collectors to the nature-inspired blown glass created by Louis Comfort Tiffany and Tiffany Studios. A legend among arts aficionados, Mrs. Nassau used her passion and knowledge to revitalize interest in Tiffany's work, which went out of vogue after Tiffany Studios closed and Tiffany died in the 1930's. Her Saturday afternoon "salons" attracted seasoned collectors eager to be the first to see and buy her latest acquisitions.
Sulka, who is celebrating a quarter century with the Lillian Nassau gallery, has bought and sold examples of major lamps and blown glass since being recruited by Mrs. Nassau in 1980. For the past nine years collectors have come to know Sulka from her appearances as an expert Tiffany appraiser on the popular PBS-TV series, "Antiques Roadshow."
Tiffany's reputation evolved from his design commissions: The Henry O. Havemeyer house, completed in 1892, was the starting point. Besides the elaborate, entirely unique hanging lamps and sconces Tiffany created for the immense and grand home, there were numerous table lamps that launched the genre. Over the succeeding years, Tiffany became world famous for his lamps, glass tiles and mosaics and delicately blown iridescent favrile art glass.
Tiffany's inspiration often came from the forms he admired, particularly floral motifs such as Lily, Wisteria, Daffodil, Magnolia, Peony, and Bamboo, and natural elements, including dragonflies and butterflies, trees, shrubs and fruit. He also used early Moorish-inspired and Greek Key designs.
Tiffany's artisans created more than three hundred lamp designs during his more than forty year career, and his hundreds of employees produced a wide range of decorative items including table, floor and hanging lamps and wall sconces. Many incorporated novel manufacturing techniques he developed, including those for favrile glass, leaded glass and mosaic and glass tiles.
Highlights at the Lillian Nassau show LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY AND HIS LAMPS: Genius of Illumination:
One of only six known Rare and Early Cyclamen Lamps with a Pepper Base, circa 1902, which Arlie Sulka says, "Is an extraordinary example of Tiffany's talent at its most colorful and imaginative level."
- A Tulip Lamp on a Rare Gingko Berry Base, circa 1905
- Trumpet Creeper Lamp, circa 1906
- Double Student Lamp with Blown Glass Shades, circa 1898
- A early Acorn Lamp, circa1899
- A Dogwood Floor Lamp, circa 1910, originally purchased from Marshall Field and Company in Chicago.
- A Special Order Blown Damascene Lamp, circa1900
- A Greek Key Lamp, circa 1906
- An Apple Blossom Lamp, circa 1905
- Dogwood Table Lamp, circa1906
- Dragonfly Lamp, circa 1906
- A Tulip Lamp, circa 1905
Arlie Sulka is thrilled to be staging her gallery show very near the time of a New-York Historical Society exhibition, A NEW LIGHT ON TIFFANY, which will be on view from Feb 23 - May 28. The exhibition explores the role of Clara Driscoll, head of the Tiffany Studios' Women's Glass Cutting Department, and the talented women who helped create some of the most celebrated examples of Tiffany's work, among them the rare "Geranium" pattern leaded glass shade, one of three objects the Lillian Nassau Gallery has loaned for the exhibition.
"Lillian Nassau continued the legacy of some very talented women who have played a significant role in promoting Tiffany art glass for more than a century. I am delighted to have the opportunity to continue in that tradition with this very comprehensive exhibition of Tiffany's finest lamps."
IF YOU GO
LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY AND HIS LAMPS:
Genius of Illumination
March 26 to June 14
Lillian Nassau
220 East 57th Street
New York NY 10022
212 759-6062
www.lilliannassau.com
Monday to Friday 10-5 Saturday 10:30 to 5
|
|
|
|
