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Posting this temporarily so I can print it!
Jayne Russo
HIS 114-06
FINISHED REPORT (642 words)
Stained glass has always interested me, and after making some of my own, I wanted to learn about one of the masters, Louis Comfort Tiffany.
Tiffany was born in New York City in 1848. He was the son of Charles Lewis Tiffany, founder of world-famous jewelry company Tiffany & Co. He attended two different military schools. Through different employees of his father, however, he began to learn more about the world of art. He began painting on his own in NYC, then Paris and the rest of Europe. He first married in 1872 to Mary Goddard, with whom he had 4 children. In 1879 he started Louis Comfort Tiffany & Associated American Artists firm with several other artists. Chester A. Arthur commissioned a huge glass screen in the White House from them, and the interior of the Mark Twain house was also their work. His wife died in 1884 and in 1885 the firm broke up.
He remarried to Louise Knox in 1886. 1893 marks the creation of Tiffany Glass Furnaces, where LCT made his own glass for his stained glass endeavors. In 1894 he patented Favrile glass, which is made by pouring colors into molten glass. For the first time, color was imbedded in the glass instead of painted on the surface. In 1900 it won the grand prize in the Paris Exposition world’s fair. After his father’s death in 1902 he purchased a large resort on Long Island, Laurelton Hall. Its design was a testament to Tiffany’s artistic accomplishment. As he aged he became more obscure and eccentric until his death in 1933. His work was not long forgotten, however, and his influences live on.
Favrile glass was probably Tiffany’s most enduring contribution to the artistic world. Though he did not invent it, he perfected it. Its creation involved pouring colors into glass, embedding it inside rather than simply painting it on the surface. Different methods include, but aren’t limited to: Lustre ware, using salts of rare metals to create a crackly metallic surface; Agate ware, marbling smaller glass pieces into the piece; or Lava glass, using basalt to give a golden effect. It was often remarkably smooth and satin-like, and has not been replicated exactly by any other glassmaker. He patented his methods in 1894. Favrile glass allows for a wide range of shapes, colors, and iridescence. The freedom of creativity in thie method also meant that no two Tiffany glass pieces were identical, making them even more irrestistible to the public. The use of Favrile allowed Tiffany to express his organic nature in his art.
Growing up the son of a world-famous jeweler had no small impact on his success and interest in art. Art was all around him in his youth; even the plates he ate from and the silverware he used must have been exotic and expensive. He was described as artistic and hard to control and led the life of a "little mercantile prince." Edward C Moore, a silversmith in his father's workshops who instilled much of his knowledge upon the young Tiffany. He also introduced glass to the boy. After attending military school, which he didn't like, he had the resources to travel the world as a self-teaching painter. Europe left many marks on him, and he on it; this scenario would likely never occur had his family not had the sheer amount of wealth that it did. The personal connections his father left him with were equally priceless, and contributed much to his success.
Tiffany’s love for the imperfect and organic left a mark on me. Before he made his own glass, he would use old jelly jars in his work because fine glass at the time was “too perfect.” Next, I’d like to know more about the Art Nouveau movement as a whole and how it impacted the art world.
Jayne Russo
HIS 114-06
FINISHED REPORT (642 words)
Stained glass has always interested me, and after making some of my own, I wanted to learn about one of the masters, Louis Comfort Tiffany.
Tiffany was born in New York City in 1848. He was the son of Charles Lewis Tiffany, founder of world-famous jewelry company Tiffany & Co. He attended two different military schools. Through different employees of his father, however, he began to learn more about the world of art. He began painting on his own in NYC, then Paris and the rest of Europe. He first married in 1872 to Mary Goddard, with whom he had 4 children. In 1879 he started Louis Comfort Tiffany & Associated American Artists firm with several other artists. Chester A. Arthur commissioned a huge glass screen in the White House from them, and the interior of the Mark Twain house was also their work. His wife died in 1884 and in 1885 the firm broke up.
He remarried to Louise Knox in 1886. 1893 marks the creation of Tiffany Glass Furnaces, where LCT made his own glass for his stained glass endeavors. In 1894 he patented Favrile glass, which is made by pouring colors into molten glass. For the first time, color was imbedded in the glass instead of painted on the surface. In 1900 it won the grand prize in the Paris Exposition world’s fair. After his father’s death in 1902 he purchased a large resort on Long Island, Laurelton Hall. Its design was a testament to Tiffany’s artistic accomplishment. As he aged he became more obscure and eccentric until his death in 1933. His work was not long forgotten, however, and his influences live on.
Favrile glass was probably Tiffany’s most enduring contribution to the artistic world. Though he did not invent it, he perfected it. Its creation involved pouring colors into glass, embedding it inside rather than simply painting it on the surface. Different methods include, but aren’t limited to: Lustre ware, using salts of rare metals to create a crackly metallic surface; Agate ware, marbling smaller glass pieces into the piece; or Lava glass, using basalt to give a golden effect. It was often remarkably smooth and satin-like, and has not been replicated exactly by any other glassmaker. He patented his methods in 1894. Favrile glass allows for a wide range of shapes, colors, and iridescence. The freedom of creativity in thie method also meant that no two Tiffany glass pieces were identical, making them even more irrestistible to the public. The use of Favrile allowed Tiffany to express his organic nature in his art.
Growing up the son of a world-famous jeweler had no small impact on his success and interest in art. Art was all around him in his youth; even the plates he ate from and the silverware he used must have been exotic and expensive. He was described as artistic and hard to control and led the life of a "little mercantile prince." Edward C Moore, a silversmith in his father's workshops who instilled much of his knowledge upon the young Tiffany. He also introduced glass to the boy. After attending military school, which he didn't like, he had the resources to travel the world as a self-teaching painter. Europe left many marks on him, and he on it; this scenario would likely never occur had his family not had the sheer amount of wealth that it did. The personal connections his father left him with were equally priceless, and contributed much to his success.
Tiffany’s love for the imperfect and organic left a mark on me. Before he made his own glass, he would use old jelly jars in his work because fine glass at the time was “too perfect.” Next, I’d like to know more about the Art Nouveau movement as a whole and how it impacted the art world.