Summer 2017

2017 Antiques & Fine Art 109 manufacturing, who desired opulent embellishment to adorn their palatial new homes. They also sponsored a wave of new church construction in the 1880s and ‘90s, often including highly fashionable and elaborate interior decoration. In addition, these magnates financed the decoration of universities, libraries, and commercial buildings. As Tiffany’s remarkable new effects in glass were displayed at world’s fairs and exhibitions across America and Europe, the number of mosaic commissions soared during the last decade of the nineteenth century, their complexity and scale enhancing Tiffany’s reputation. In 1893, Tiffany and his firm introduced their artistry to an international audience at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. An elaborate Romanesque-inspired chapel (Fig. 3) featured glass-encrusted ecclesiastical furniture and architectural elements that shimmered in the dim light. Additional examples of glass mosaics at Tiffany’s fair display included a Byzantine-inspired, large-scale figural frieze, Fathers of the Church (Fig. 4) , as well as fireplace surrounds made for domestic interiors. This range of st yle and application demonstrated the firm’s ability to work in a mode that respected, but did not slavishly copy, historical styles. Tiffany’s display, visited by more than two million people, garnered significant critical acclaim, along with an unprecedented number of awards, and led to a burst of commissions. Between approximately 1880 and 1930, Tiffany’s f irm executed more than two hundred mosaic commissions, many of which were large-scale, highly-complex decorations for a variety of public buildings, including churches, libraries, hotels, theaters, banks, and offices. Tiffany’s advertisements touted glass mosaics as ideal decoration for industrial cities across America, where “a smoky atmosphere prevails the year round, and where the collection of soot and dirt soon dims all exposed surfaces.”  1 They were promoted as durable, fade resistant, and fireproof. For a city like Chicago, which suffered a devastating fire in 1871, glass left Fig. 4 : Fathers of the Church, panel, about 1892. Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company, designed by Joseph Lauber (American, b. Germany, 1855–1948). Glass mosaic, glass “jewels,” and plaster. H. 98, W. 59 in. The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass, Queens, New York. Image: The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York. ©The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass, Queens, New York. right Fig. 5 : Interior of Marquette building, Chicago, Ill., 1895. Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company, designed by Jacob Adolphus Holzer (American, b. Switzerland, 1858–1938). Image: The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York.