Louis Comfort Tiffany Research Paper

Louis Comfort Tiffany was born in New York City in 1848. Tiffany is known for not only being the son of Tiffany & Co. founder, Charles Tiffany, but as a notorious glassmaker, designer, and is also credited with being a leader of the Art Nouveau movement. Tiffany began his studies in Europe, and furthers his education at the National Academy of Design in New York with aspirations to become an artist. Painting was Tiffany’s primary interest, however, he began to focus on decorative arts and interiors in the 1870s. Stemming from his father’s jewelry business, Tiffany decided to pursue his own business ventures and began his career in 1875. At first, Tiffany began working with stained glass and later founded a glass-making company in 1878 with several colleagues. Tensions between Tiffany and his colleagues contributed to the creation of an independent firm founded by Tiffany, which became known as “Tiffany Studios.” Tiffany became a renowned leader in glass production after his creation of …show more content…
Tiffany used his skills of glass working to created lampshades made of stained glass. Each lampshade was unique due to the different patterns and varied colors. Tiffany redirected his business focus into glass working because he felt that lamps would be a highly profitable sideline (Brady). Nature was Tiffany’s inspiration for his glass designs (Morse Museum of American Art). Tiffany’s lamps always encompass a bronze base, and the shades are assemblies of colored glass. The color compositions of the pieces give the shades a stained-glass effect. Most of his lampshade designs feature some sort of lush scene of flowers and plants, or insects such as dragonflies and butterflies. According to David Brady in his article of Tiffany’s work at the Metropolitan, the objects and scenes included in Tiffany’s lamps are things that represented him while he studied in