Hugh F. McKean

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The 'lost' Treasures Of Louis Comfort Tiffany

The works of the Tiffany Studios revolutionized interior design in turn-of-the-century America. All of the company's works-from stained-glass windows to blown-glass vases; lamp shades to inkwells-bore the unique stamp of one man, Louis Comfort Tiffany, who created the Tiffany Studios and supervised every aspect of their production. Many of these official studio pieces are well known today-avidly sought by museums and collectors worldwide. Special ones among them, as well as other lesser known pieces-the "lost" works of Louis Tiffany himself-are, in a real sense, the core of his astonishing achievement. They comprise his personal oeuvre-the objects made from his original designs for exhibition, for private commissions, or for use in Tiffany's own homes. This book reevaluates Tiffany's art in terms of his personal work-including pieces in all the media that attracted him over the course of his prolific career; stained glass, of course, but also mosaics, blown glass, pottery, jewelry, and enamels. Tiffany's pioneering efforts in interior design are covered, as are his easel paintings and his dream of creating a permanent residential retreat for working artists. Hugh F. McKean also provides much intimate insight into Tiffany's personality, his domestic life, his financial dealings, and his unusual philosophy of art. Lavishly illustrated, the book presents a vivid display of Tiffany's wide-ranging aesthetic. The result is a rare portrait of Tiffany the man-and of the prodigious imagination that almost single-handedly transformed the day-to-day image of a nation and an era.