About Meyda Tiffany Lamps

A Tiffany lamp is a lamp made out of stained glass. The pieces of stained glass are soldered together with copper foil. Original Tiffany lamps are generally considered part of the Art Nouveau. The first Tiffany lamp was created in 1899 with a bronze base and was designed by Louis Comfort Tifanny.

Louis C. Tiffany was born into a world of riches-most notably of silver. His father, Charles Lewis Tiffany (1812-1902), has created an empire made of silver and jewels when Louis was born. As a young man he traveled extensively and studied art in Europe, returning in 1879 to establish a popular interior decorating firm that was hired in 1883 to furnish a portion of the White House for President Chester A. Arthur. Tiffany continued to travel and to explore new avenues of artistic expression. In Paris he was enthralled by the work of Emile Galle and became close friends with Samuel Bing; on his return to New York he redirected his focus and by 1896 had introduced both his famous stained-glass lamps, now antique Tiffany lamps (lampade lampey lampe), and his line of favrille handmade glass.

Though most famous for his work with glass, his talents also included interior design, rug making, ceramics, mosiacs, and jewelry. He enjoyed and long and successful career but, after a series of personal and financial misfortunes and declining popularity due in part to the First World War, died penniless and forgotten in 1933. It wasn't until the 1960s that new interest in his work emerged, and Tiffany soon became a household name denoting beauty, grace, color, and elegance.

To see examples of his art goto: Meyda tiffany lamps