Tiffany Dragonfly Lamp

Electric Lamp With Holden Dragonfly Shade And
Twisted-Stem Water Lily Standard
Tiffany Studios, New York, Early 20th Century
Colored glass assembled with copper foil; cast bronze base
Marks: Stamped on bottom of base TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK
443/ Shade marked with tab stamped
TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK 1507
Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.8123 (GAT 66.39)

Louis Comfort Tiffany's magnificent glass lamp shades and coordinated bronze bases are among the Chrysler Museum of Art's most popular and admired decorative objects. Amid this collection of glowing glass jewels, the large Dragonfly Lamp with its rhythmic pattern of elegantly winged insects is one of the most complicated and beautiful of the many Tiffany objects on display.

Many questions come to mind while admiring the Dragonfly Lamp. Who was Louis Comfort Tiffany? How were the lamps made? Were the bases and shades sold together? Why does Tiffany glass look so different from other kinds of colored glass? Were the lamps designed to use electricity? Were they expensive when new? The answers to these and other questions encourage an even greater appreciation of Tiffany's brilliant lamps and other works.

Who was Louis Comfort Tiffany?

Born in 1848, he was the elder son of Charles Lewis Tiffany, founder of the famed Fifth Avenue Tiffany and Company. L.C. Tiffany was a painter, interior designer, collector, world traveler, photographer, manufacturer, and avid gardener. By the early 1880s, Tiffany was recognized as a highly successful interior decorator, executing prestigious commissions at the White House and the Veterans' Room of the Seventh Regiment Armory in New York City. This was followed by the establishment of the glass companies that would make him world famous. He was first married in 1872, became the father of three children, was widowed, and remarried in 1886. Active and supportive of the arts for his entire life, Tiffany died at age 85 believing that his reputation as "the first American industrial artist to design for the modern age" would continue to live on.

Where were the Tiffany lamps and other objects made?

Tiffany first experimented with glass in his laboratory on Fourth Avenue, New York City, in the mid 1880s. He then hired chemists and furnace men to work in the Heidt glasshouse in Brooklyn. After 1893, an extensive variety of objects were manufactured in Tiffany's glass factories in Corona, New York. The production of decorative items for the home ended after World War I. Blown glass production ended in 1928, by which time Tiffany was no longer associated with any aspect of glass making.

How were the Tiffany lamps made?

The lamps -- and all other Tiffany objects -- were designed either by Tiffany himself or by artists working under his supervision. The bases were cast in bronze like fine sculpture. Shades were created by fitting hundreds of hand cut glass shapes into copper foil enclosures. Copper foil is light and strong, making possible shades of large size and complex design. Lamps and shades were given model numbers to facilitate the filling of orders.

Were the bases and shades sold together?

For the most part, the shades and bases were interchangeable according to the taste of the customer. The two exceptions to this option are the Wisteria Lamp and Pond Lilly Lamp (both on display in the Chrysler's Tiffany glass gallery), which were always custom-fitted together. The bases were cast in the manner of fine sculpture and cost almost as much as the shades.

Why does Tiffany glass look so different from other kinds of colored glass?

Early in his career, Tiffany experimented with chemicals and metals that produced a wide range of colored and opalescent glass. Eventually, combinations of approximately 5,000 colors and textures were produced; no other stained glass designers had such a wide range of beautiful materials from which to choose.

Were the lamps designed to use electricity?

Tiffany lamps were designed to use electricity. By 1880, both Thomas A. Edison and J. W. Swan had independently designed a useable light bulb. By 1882 Edison had designed the first hydroelectric plant, after which electricity became increasingly available, especially in urban areas. In 1885, Edison and Tiffany worked together to decorate and light the Lyceum Theatre in New York, resulting in the first electrically lit stage. By the late 1800s there was a large market for electric lamps; the first Tiffany leaded-glass lamps were produced in 1899, and by the early 1900s a wide range of styles and designs were available.

Were Tiffany lamps expensive when new?

Tiffany always designed and produced decorative objects for the "carriage trade". After 1900, he expanded production in an effort to "provide good art for American homes," but the work was never cheap. A 1906 price list states that a small Dragonfly design lamp cost $100; large Wisteria and Pond Lily designs sold for $400 each. The Chrysler's large Dragonfly Lamp shade originally sold for $175; when the "twisted stem" base was included, the total cost was $240. The blue glass used in the Chrysler example is extremely rare, if not unique -- the Dragonfly Lamp was usually created in ivory with red glass. It is interesting to compare the cost of the lamps to that of a Model T Ford, which in 1908 sold for $725!

As a young man, Walter P. Chrysler visited the elderly Louis Comfort Tiffany at Laurelton Hall, Tiffany's fabulous estate at Oyster Bay, Long Island. Chrysler later built a brilliant collection of Tiffany lamps, blown glass and stained glass windows in homage to the great designer. Amongst the most spectacular of these objects is the great early 20th Century Dragonfly Lamp.

-- - Ann Dearsley Vernon

RESOURCES

Koch, Robert. Louis C. Tiffany's Glass--Bronzes--Lamps. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1971.

Koch, Robert. Louis C. Tiffany, Rebel in Glass. New York: Crown Publisher, Inc., 1982.

The Britannica Encyclopedia of American Art. Published by Encyclopaedia Britannica Education Corporation, Chicago; Distributed by Simon and Schuster, New York, 1976.

Conversations with Gary E. Baker, Curator of Glass, Chrysler Museum of Art, May, 2001.