Louis Comfort Tiffany hits the big time in New York Museums this spring.
First of all at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, there is an exhibit that began last fall called Louis Comfort Tiffany and Laurelton Hall—An Artist’s Country Estate
here is some promo text from the Met website -
Laurelton Hall, Louis Comfort Tiffany's extraordinary country estate in Oyster Bay, New York, completed in 1905, was the epitome of the designer's achievement and in many ways defined this multifaceted artist. Tiffany designed every aspect of the project inside and out, creating a total aesthetic environment. The exhibition is a window into Tiffany’s most personal art, bringing into focus this remarkable artist who lavished as much care and creativity on the design and furnishing of his home and gardens as he did on all the wide-ranging media in which he worked. Although the house tragically burned to the ground in 1957, the exhibition brings together many of its surviving architectural elements and interior features. In addition, the exhibition features Tiffany's personal collections of his own work—breathtaking stained-glass windows, paintings, glass and ceramic vases—as well as the artist's collections of Japanese, Chinese, and Native American works of art.
Accompanied by a publication.
Also - coming in February 2007 at the New York Historical Society
again, promo text from the NYHS website -
The proposed exhibition will present new information on the designing, production, and marketing of Tiffany lamps gleaned from recently discovered correspondence written by Clara Driscoll, head of the so-called "Women's Glass Cutting Department" at Tiffany Studios. The exhibition will explore the role of the "Tiffany girls"—the 27 women responsible for making Tiffany lamps, windows, mosaics, and other luxury goods—and their talented leader and designer, Clara Driscoll. Anchoring the installation will be approximately 50 Tiffany lamps, windows, ceramics, enamels and mosaics, supplemented by related documents and photographs.
I first heard about this NYHS exhibit when Martin Eidelberg spoke at the St. Louis Art Museum in the spring of 2006. Eidelberg wrote the recent (and highly recommended) book The Lamps of Tiffany. His perspective on Tiffany will not please those who are used to the idea of Tiffany as the Great Master Genius Artist/Designer, since he presents a view of Tiffany as more a businessman than an artist. It will be interesting to see if this sparks any kind of controversy.
Posted by Tom at February 16, 2007 07:20 AM