American Crafts Ribbon

Louis Comfort Tiffany Opens a Window of Color on American Art

Charles Lewis Tiffany, founder of Tiffany & Co. in 1837, succeeded in providing the wealthy with classic handcrafted silver jewelry. The familiar blue box and white ribbon continues to be the staple for Tiffany & Co., enticing buyers since the beginning, attracting luminaries such as Queen Victoria of England, and continues to keeps with Tiffany's vision of beautiful, enduring pieces of jewelry.

Tiffany's son, Louis Comfort Tiffany didn't live in his father's shadow; in fact, he prospered in the artistic realm, with stained glass artwork and mosaics. He was born on February 18, 1848 in New York City, and it wasn't long before he strayed from the family business.

Tiffany began his apprenticeship under American landscape artist George Inness in 1866 at the age of 18, absorbing the concepts of composition, color and technique. In his 20's, he had the opportunity to travel Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa. Fortunately, due to his family's wealth, he was able to visit Europe more than once between 1865 and 1872. It was during these trips, that Tiffany developed a love and interest in Islamic architecture, Moorish and Romanesque artwork and Japanese ceramics.

His studies in stained glass began in 1872 at the age of 24. Upon returning to America, he started experiments with iridescent glass by combining heated glass, fumes and metallic oxides. These experiments were done jointly with painter John La Farge; Tiffany and La Farge studied the practice of glass making at the Heidt Glassworks in Brooklyn, New York.
In 1879, Tiffany founded the Louis C. Tiffany Company, Associated Arts provided stained glass windows for private and public buildings.

Fascinated by ancient Roman and Greek glass that had been recovered by archaeologists, Tiffany's pursuit to duplicate an iridescent finish became his obsession and by 1880 he had applied for several patents on this type of finish.

Tiffany's design of stained glass windows became increasing popular and he came up with an innovative idea to use the bits of glass left over to create stunning Tiffany lamps. During a job lighting the first ever movie theater, Tiffany collaborated with Thomas Edison. Surging together with Edison, the two designed electric lamps. This great collaboration influenced Tiffany to continue creating lamps, and his mini stain glass designs took the nation by storm. Tiffany Lamps were either designed by Tiffany himself or by artists that were fully under his supervision, and with superb craftsmanship.

During the 1930's and 1940's the reputation of Tiffany Style Lamps succumbed to the popular Art Moderne and Expressionism styles. Tiffany Lamps were thought too ornate for the emerging décor, and it wasn't until the 1950's that the lamps became popular again. Antique collectors and museums popularized the mosaic beauties once again, and in 1998 two lamps sold for nearly 2 million dollars apiece.

Groundbreaking, with a true love of his craft, Louis C. Tiffany's lighting concepts are still admired today and an original Tiffany lamp remains a valuable possession. With his passion for color, the outdoors and illumination, Tiffany turned the light on for a nation, showing elegance through inspiring chips of glass.

About the Author

Rob Mabry is a former Army journalist, screenwriter and technologist. He is owner of Balance Bikes 4 Kids, specializing in bikes and scooters to help your child learn to ride.

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