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Design for Lyceum Theatre, New York

ca. 1885
Not on view
This watercolor rendering is the only visual record of the interior decorations Tiffany provided for New York's Lyceum Theatre. After consulting with the American artist John La Farge (1835-1910), theater impresario Steele Mackaye gave the commission to Tiffany, his former schoolmate. The color scheme is carefully composed in browns, reds, and yellow, with much of the wall and ceiling relieved by silver stenciled and painted classically inspired designs. A large hanging light fixture, described as "numerous large pear-shaped globes of opalescent glass swung by silver wires," dominated the space. When the Lyceum opened in 1885, it was the first theater to utilize electricity for overhead fixtures and the stage.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Design for Lyceum Theatre, New York
  • Artist: Louis C. Tiffany (American, New York 1848–1933 New York)
  • Maker: Tiffany Glass Company (1885–92)
  • Date: ca. 1885
  • Geography: Made in New York, United States; Country of Origin USA
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Watercolor, pen and gold-colored bronze metallic ink, brown and black India ink, and graphite on tan-colored wove paper
  • Dimensions: 11 7/16 × 10 15/16 in. (29 × 27.7 cm)
    Mat: 22 × 16 in. (55.9 × 40.6 cm)
    Framed (AW C): 24 1/4 × 18 1/4 in. (61.6 × 46.4 cm)
  • Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1953
  • Object Number: 53.679.1824
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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