Four designs for a skylight
Tiffany’s windows are often densely composed, flush with architectural details or imagery from the natural world. The sparse composition of these watercolor sketches suggests that they may have been intended as panels for a skylight, a theory supported by several still in existence today. Fruit, vines, or climbing flowers on a trellis was a design motif commonly used by Tiffany and could be readily adapted to fit the nature of the commission. The purple clematis, for example, was frequently depicted in such trellis designs for windows and skylights as well as leaded-glass shades and other works. It is also a flower associated with the old-fashioned cottage garden, which was closely aligned with the nation’s Colonial Revival cultural phenomenon.
Artwork Details
- Title: Four designs for a skylight
- Artist: Louis C. Tiffany (American, New York 1848–1933 New York)
- Designer: Attributed to Agnes F. Northrop (American, Flushing, New York 1857–1953 New York, New York)
- Maker: Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company (American, 1892–1902)
- Maker: or Tiffany Studios (1902–32)
- Date: 1895–1920
- Geography: Made in New York, United States; Country of Origin USA
- Culture: American
- Medium: Watercolor, gouache and graphite on wove paper [original presentation matt missing]
- Dimensions: A: 17 5/8 × 7 5/8 in. (44.8 × 19.4 cm)
B: 15 1/4 × 12 5/8 in. (38.7 × 32.1 cm)
C: 14 1/2 × 5 1/4 in. (36.8 × 13.3 cm)
Mat: 25 × 32 in. (63.5 × 81.3 cm)
Framed (AW E): 26 × 33 in. (66 × 83.8 cm) - Credit Line: Purchase, Walter Hoving and Julia T. Weld Gifts and Dodge Fund, 1967
- Object Number: 67.654.197a–c
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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Louis C. Tiffany
Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company
ca. 1900
Louis C. Tiffany
Tiffany Studios
1902–33
Louis C. Tiffany
Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company
ca. 1893–97
Louis C. Tiffany
Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company
ca. 1895
Louis C. Tiffany
Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company
1893–1900
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