Clara Driscoll and the Genesis of Tiffany Lamps

In October of 2005 two Tiffany scholars learned of hundreds of letters written by Clara Pierce Wolcott Driscoll the head of Tiffany's Glass Cutting Department. Until then very minuscule was known about the leader of "The Tiffany Girls." In the resulting book, A New Light on Tiffany, Eidelberg, Gray, and Hofer tell her exciting story.

Wood Table Lamps

Without a doubt, Louis comfort Tiffany gave Clara Driscoll free time to found a prolific amount of Tiffany lamps. Her letters narrate in detail the earliest found processes for leaded glass shades, including her award winning Tiffany Dragonfly lamp. Yet he did not publicize the work of any of his artists and craftsmen. They were referenced in only one or two articles of the day and given just a few awards. This was the case in the Paris Exposition of 1900 when Tiffany was required to disclose the artist's name.

The woman who designed the majority of Tiffany lamps was born in Ohio on December 15, 1861. Her father died when she was twelve, leaving Clara and her four younger sisters in the care of their mum and aunt. They were united by a strong artistic and literary bent that led three of the girls to pursue optical arts. In Clara's case, the foundational concepts integral to the Tiffany lamp were learned at the Western retain School of found and Metropolitan Museum Art School, as well as Tiffany's own studios.

After Clara and her sister moved to New York in 1888, the weighty correspondence known as the "Round Robin," letters began between mother, daughters and aunt. In them descriptions of Tiffany lamps, designs, and inspiration shed "A New Light on Tiffany" as the authors aptly put it. Yet, it would be a circuitous path that would lead to Clara's inspired designs. Tiffany lamps would come about only after Clara learned Tiffany's materials and methods in the stained glass shop.

For over six years Clara labored at development windows and mosaics in two separate stints with the company. Here she learned to appreciate the charm of Tiffany glass and the art of putting it together. Yet, all was not plane sailing in her private life, and It was only after Clara returned for a third time in 1897, that she began to narrate in her writing the designs of first-rate Tiffany lamps.

Clara Driscoll and the Genesis of Tiffany Lamps
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