Art Nouveau | Art Deco Glass & Lighting 
31 October 2024
Art Nouveau | Art Deco Glass & Lighting 
138

Frederick Wilson for Tiffany Studios

I Was Thirsty, and Ye Gave Me Drink (Rare window)

USA, 1893
leaded glass, lacquered wood sight: 59¾ h × 30 w in (152 × 76 cm)
estimate: $45,000–60,000
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This work is registered in the Tiffany Census under ID 33 51 18 7.
provenance: Harriet Hollond Memorial Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia | Private Collection
literature: A History of the Harriet Hollond Memorial Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, PA, Ford, pg. 103 illustrates the present example in situ

This work will ship from Lambertville, New Jersey.

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Painting with Glass

Windows by Tiffany Studios

Prior to the emergence of Tiffany Studios in the late 19th century, stained glass in America was largely characterized by traditional European methods and styles, often focused on ecclesiastical and Gothic Revival designs for churches. These works typically featured heavily painted and leaded glass, with intricate details achieved through hand-painting rather than the manipulation of the glass itself. The colors were often muted, and the designs adhered closely to European religious iconography, as many American artists and artisans followed established European techniques. The craftsmanship was solid, but innovations in glass-making and design were limited.

It wasn’t until the late 1800s, with the influence of new artistic movements such as Arts and Crafts, that American stained glass began to evolve beyond these traditional forms, culminating in the revolutionary work of Louis Comfort Tiffany and his studio. Breaking away from traditional stained glass techniques, Tiffany developed new methods, such as opalescent glass, which allowed for a richer variety of hues and a more dynamic interplay of light. Unlike older techniques that relied on painting details onto the glass, Tiffany used the glass itself to create intricate effects, such as shading, texture, and depth. The Morse Museum explains the laborious and intricate process involved in bringing these masterful works to life:

“The creation of a Tiffany stained-glass window began with a small sketch or drawing that was followed by a cartoon, a full-scale painting of the proposed window. Then the designer made two cutlines—tracings of the cartoon on which the planned glass cuts were carefully marked in thick black line. The first cutline served as the pattern for the window assembly. The second was cut into templates to be used to produce the many individual glass shapes and sizes required by the pattern. Next, glass for the window design was chosen from the thousands of colors and textures that were stored and coded in sheets.”

Finally, the window was assembled using either the leaded-glass technique or the copper-foil technique. In the former, artisans fit the glass pieces into lead cames which were then soldered and mitered at the joints. The copper-foil process was used for complex patterns with many small pieces of glass, and involved wrapping the edges of glass pieces with thin copper foil, soldering them together, and then treating the foil with beeswax on one side and muriatic acid on the other. The beeswax helped the foil adhere to the glass and the acid allowed the solder to bond to the foil.

Tiffany Studios created dazzling, colorful windows for a multitude of locales over the course of decades, from churches to mansions. Some, like those of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, remain in situ, while many others, including the exceptional selection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, are now housed in permanent collections around the world.

Tiffany Studios

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Louis Comfort Tiffany, artist, innovator, and pioneer of form and color, was born in New York City in 1848.

The son of celebrated jeweler and founder of Tiffany & Co., Charles Tiffany, Louis C. Tiffany began his career as a painter in the late 1860s studying under a series of masters including George Inness and Samuel Colman. In the mid-1870s, he turned his attention away from painting and toward the family business of decorative arts and interior design. He built a strong reputation with his exemplary work, even taking part in the 1882 redecoration of the White House.

Despite being highly regarded for his interior design work, Tiffany found he was increasingly drawn to the production of art glass, working for several glass manufacturers from 1875-1878 and honing his skills in the medium that would ultimately bring him the greatest recognition. In 1881, he filed his first patent in glass production, pioneering a new method in glass-tiled mosaic design. Tiffany continued to develop his craft and, in 1885, opened an affiliated interior design company, Tiffany Glass Company, which later changed its name to Tiffany Studios. This new company specialized in the design of private interiors and public spaces, working with numerous clients including Louisine and Henry Osborne Havemeyer and the Art Institute of Chicago.

In 1892, Tiffany received a patent for a new technique in glass production that would establish his place in art glass history: Favrile blown glass. Favrile glass is created by treating molten glass with metallic oxides in order to create a colored glass. Before the invention of Favrile glass, iridescent art glass was created by simply applying color, in the form of paint or enamel, over a piece of colorless glass. Tiffany displayed his Favrile glass at the 1900 Paris Exhibition where it won the Grand Prize.

In 1898, Tiffany Studios began manufacturing lighting fixtures and lamps. A year later, Tiffany added enamelwork to his firm’s repertoire, and later, ceramics. He continued to advance the use of Favrile glass, designing glass mosaics for use in interior settings, innovating as he did with new techniques of modeling, shading, and cutting. Upon his father's death in 1902, Tiffany assumed the roles of Vice-president and Art Director of Tiffany & Co. He watched the company’s bottom line fastidiously, ending production of any item that went unsold for one year.

No amount of careful accounting could safeguard Tiffany Studios against the shift in public taste during the 1920s. The scrolls and natural curves so integral to Tiffany’s designs gave way to the right angles of Modernism. Tiffany Studios declared bankruptcy in 1932. Louis C. Tiffany died a year later, personally bankrupt and in relative obscurity. That obscurity was not to last; scholars rediscovered Tiffany’s work in the 1950s, followed by the art market a decade later.

Today, works by Louis Comfort Tiffany and Tiffany Studios are highly sought after in the modern art market, with collectors valuing them for their high production quality, intricate and nature-inspired designs, and stunning use of colored glass.

Auction Results Tiffany Studios

Tiffany Studios, attribution

Rare screen

estimate: $75,000–90,000

result: $87,500

Louis C. Tiffany Furnaces, Inc.

Rare Damascene table lamp

estimate: $10,000–15,000

result: $25,200

Tiffany Studios, attribution

Daffodil chandelier

estimate: $25,000–35,000

result: $22,680

Edith Lautrup for Tiffany Studios

Favrile Pottery Vase

estimate: $4,500–6,500

result: $10,625

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