Louis Comfort Tiffany: Treasures from the Driehaus Collection - Hardcover

Hanks, David A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 158093353X ISBN 13: 9781580933537

Publisher: The Monacelli Press, 2013

Synopsis

A seminal artist of the Gilded Age, Louis Comfort Tiffany is the best known and most widely collected figure in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American decorative arts. The splendid objects from the Driehaus Collection, installed as the inaugural exhibition of the Richard H. Driehaus Museum, showcase a wide variety of Tiffany’s work in an architectural setting of the period.
 
Newly commissioned photographs by John Faier highlight the subtle detail and rich coloring of each object, revealing why Tiffany is so revered as a designer. Essays by Richard H. Driehaus and David A. Hanks explore the collector’s vision and Tiffany Studios’s largely unknown legacy in Chicago.
 
Vividly colored, enriched with ornament, and boldly scaled, the book provides an intimate look into the artistry and craftsmanship of Tiffany, and is a unique opportunity for collectors and enthusiasts alike to experience the objects as never before seen.

About this title

About the Author:

David A. Hanks is the curator of the Stewart Program for Modern Design in Montreal. He has written extensively on nineteenth- and twentieth-century decorative design, including The Century of Modern Design.
 
Richard H. Driehaus, Chicago businessman, philanthropist, and founder of the Driehaus Museum, is a prominent collector of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century fine and decorative arts.

Review:

"David A. Hanks takes the reader through a virtual journey of Tiffany works in the collection of the Richard H. Driehaus Museum in Chicago, located mere steps from the city’s Magnificent Mile. The Driehaus collection focuses on the time in England and America when the quest for beauty in decorative arts informed buyers’ tastes. . . . If one cannot get to Chicago firsthand to see these works in this architectural setting, then this book is the next best thing. It shows the stunning diversity of Tiffany’s creations, from lamps and floral vases to vase forms, decorative objects, furniture and interiors and stained glass windows. It also shares the important story of Tiffany’s accomplishments in Chicago, which has not been as widely known, as the company is more closely associated with New York City. John Faier’s photographs accentuate the subtle details and shadings in each piece shown." —Antiques And The Arts Weekly

"Founder Richard H. Driehaus contributes a personal 'Collector's Vision' essay in which he describes his museum as one where 'guests do not walk briskly... They linger on every extravagant detail—whether a Tiffany chandelier, a suite of Herter Brothers furniture, intricate marquetry, stunning tile work, or richly designed fabrics.' The book's extraordinary photographs invite a similar pace. Monochromatic backgrounds and perfect lighting invite the eye to find the stem atop a hydrangea-inspired lamp, the fern detail on a heavily carved bronze base, or confetti glass detail in a window. Many pieces are described with more than one photograph and from a variety of angles—almost as good as holding the piece in hand." —Publishers Weekly
"Created to go with an exhibition of the same name that will open on Sept. 28 at the Driehaus Museum in Chicago, the book features essays on six categories of Tiffany designs, including lamps, furniture and interiors and decorative objects, with remarkable close-up pictures of vases, candlesticks and chandeliers that show the details of the colors in the glass." —Women's Wear Daily

About this edition

• Publisher: The Monacelli Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 158093353X
• ISBN 13: 9781580933537
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192