The Brazos Forum

To complement In Company With Angels, Brazos Forum
moved its typical October dates to Wednesday, November
6th and Thursday, November 7th, during the first week of
this special exhibit. In addition to sharing the study of Louis
Comfort Tiffany by three exceptionally gifted speakers from
throughout the United States who are featured inside this
brochure, Brazos Forum will also focus on an outstanding
local stained-glass artisan, Bryant Stanton. Mr. Stanton will
share information about stained-glass at the conclusion of
the Wednesday luncheon, then he will act as interpreter and
tour guide for those who choose to visit the Angels exhibit
on Wednesday afternoon. After lunch on Thursday, our
own columnist, author, and Baylor senior lecturer, Dr. David
Smith, will review information about Tiffany and other Forum
topics, as well as offer concluding thoughts.
The
Brazos
Forum
Post Office Box 7795
Waco, TX 76714
The
Brazos
Forum
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SPECIAL FORUM DATES
Opening on November 2nd, at the Lee Lockwood Library,
Historic Waco Foundation is bringing an exciting exhibit
to Waco for a three-month stay. This exhibit, In Company
with Angels, features seven restored stained-glass
windows created by Louis Comfort Tiffany in 1902. Each
window depicts an angel representing one of the seven
Christian Churches of Asia Minor described in the Book
of Revelation. Originally created for a Swedenborgian
Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, the windows were removed
and stored when the church was demolished in 1964 for
expansion of the Interstate Highway System. The windows
were rediscovered and restored in 2001 and have traveled
around the United States since 2007. Waco is most fortunate
to be the first venue in Texas to showcase these beautiful
windows. Those who attend Brazos Forum will have the
opportunity to enjoy this special exhibit as a Forum activity
at a discounted group rate.
November 6-7, 2013
HISTORIC WACO’S EXHIBIT OF TIFFANY
STAINED-GLASS CHURCH WINDOWS
Kevin W. Tucker joined the Dallas Museum of Art
as the Margo B. Perot Curator of Decorative Arts
and Design in June 2003. Since joining the DMA,
he has curated or co-curated numerous critically
acclaimed exhibits and has been responsible for a
series of major acquisitions, including a pair of Louis
Comfort Tiffany “undersea” windows, and a Tiffany &
Co. Aztec coffee service made for William Randolph
Hearst. He has also lectured and written on various
aspects of modern design. Tucker has more than
twenty years of experience in the field and is a
specialist in American decorative arts and design of
the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He came to the
DMA from the Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia,
South Carolina, where he served as Chief Curator
and Deputy Director. He also held several other
positions while there for over 8 years. In addition to
his work in Columbia, Mr. Tucker served as Curator
of Decorative Arts & Owens-Thomas House at the
Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia.
Mr. Tucker holds an M.A. degree in Applied
History/Museum Studies and a B.A. in History
from the University of South Carolina and was
the recipient of a 2007 Winterthur Research
Fellowship. He has served on the board of the
Curators Committee (CURCOM) of the American
Association of Museums, and as a reviewer for the
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
and Institute of Museum and Library Services, and
he has been involved with various regional and
national professional committees, including that of
the Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC).
In Company
with
KEVIN
TUCKER
a Tiffany Masterworks Exhibit
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
An Illuminating
Look at
Dr. Eidelberg is especially known for his studies on
Louis C. Tiffany’s glass, ceramics, and lamps. As a
child he was fascinated by the iridescent glass of
his grandmother’s Tiffany vases, and as a teenager,
he went to see the first retrospective exhibition of
Tiffany’s work. Today, more than a half-century
later, he is the author or co-author of nine books
on Tiffany. These include Masterworks of Louis
Comfort Tiffany (1989), Behind the Scenes of
Tiffany Glassmaking (2001), The Lamps of Louis
C. Tiffany (2005), A New Light on Tiffany, Clara
Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls (2007), Tiffany
Favrile Glass and the Cult of Beauty (2007), Tiffany
Favrile Pottery and the Cult of Beauty (2010).
PAID
Martin Eidelberg, a native New Yorker, is Professor
Emeritus of Art History, Rutgers University, where
he taught for thirty-eight years. He earned his
undergraduate degree from Columbia College
and completed his doctorate at Princeton
University at the age of twenty-four. In addition
to being a scholar on French eighteenth-century
art, focusing on the paintings and drawings of
Watteau, Dr. Eidelberg is the prize-winning author
of many books and articles on twentieth-century
decorative arts. He is especially interested in the
arts of 1900 and the mid-century. Co-author of
the pioneering The Arts and Crafts Movement in
America, 1876-1916, his scholarship has focused on
American ceramics and glass, and he has written
extensively on figures such as William H. Grueby,
Artus van Briggle, Adelaide Alsop Robineau, and
Edward Colonna.
Integ
76712
MARTIN
EIDELBERG
JANET
ZAPATA
Janet Zapata is an American decorative
arts historian and author, as well as an
independent scholar, curator and museum
consultant who has particular expertise
in jewelry and silver. She holds a master’s
degree from Rutgers University in art
history. She formerly served as archivist
for Tiffany & Co., worked with Christie’s
auction house, and lectured in the graduate
program at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in
New York City.
Ms. Zapata is the author of The Jewelry and
Enamels of Louis Comfort Tiffany (1993); The
Art of Zadora: America’s Fabergé (1999); The
Jeweled Menagerie (2001) and The Jeweled
Garden (2006) with Suzanne Tennenbaum;
Seaman Schepps: A Century of New York
Jewelry Design (2004) with Amanda Vaill;
and Symphony of Jewels: The Art of Anna Hu
(2012). In addition to her extensive writing,
Ms. Zapata has curated several exhibitions
including Tiffany: 150 Years of Gems and Jewelry
and The Nature of Diamonds at the American
Museum of Natural History in New York
City; The Silver of Tiffany & Co. 1850-1987 at
the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Glitter
and the Gold: Fashioning America’s Jewelry at
The Newark Museum; Jewels of Time at the
Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute,
Utica, New York; and Gems of the East and
West: The Doris Duke Jewelry Collection at
Rough Point, Newport, Rhode Island.
The
Brazos
Forum
Wed., Nov. 6, 2013
8:15am - 9:00amRegistration
Complimentary Coffee/Tea
Book Sale
9:00am - 9:15am
Welcome
9:15am - 10:15am
“Louis Comfort Tiffany and the
Supremacy of Color”
Dr. Martin Eidelberg
From the earliest moments in his career, Louis C. Tiffany
defined himself as a colorist. As a painter, he did not want
to be associated with any particular group or theory; he
just wanted to be known as a colorist. As a glassmaker, he
prided himself on the number of different colors that
could be combined in a single pane or on a vase. He
compared his enamels to precious stones and felt that
his works had greater depth and fire than could be found
in nature. Ultimately, color is the key to understanding
Tiffany’s art. It required time and great expense to
achieve the effects he desired, and the narrative of how he
achieved all that he did is fascinating. But it also required
the help and technical expertise of trained technicians
who were intentionally kept in the shadows so as not to
detract from Tiffany’s ambitions. Only now can the full
story be told.
10:15am -10:45am
Complimentary Coffee/Tea/Soda
Book Sale
10:55am - 11:55am “The Jewelry and Jeweled Objects
of Louis Comfort Tiffany”
Janet Zapata
It was not until 1902 that Louis Comfort Tiffany turned
his attention to jewelry. At first, his artisans worked at
Tiffany Furnaces. Five years later, this department moved
Brazos Forum History
In 1985, a group of Wacoans was challenged to form an
organization designed to encourage the study and preservation
of American decorative arts and history. For the past 29 years,
the Brazos Forum has successfully carried out that mission.
Now recognized regionally and nationally, the Forum annually
makes an in-depth study of a selected theme, style, region, or
culture. This year, the theme is An Illuminating Look at
Louis Comfort Tiffany.
The first Forum, held October 8-10, 1985, was a celebration
of the Texas Sesquicentennial and was titled “The Decorative
Arts of Early Texas, 1890 - 1900.” Since that time, French,
Spanish, Oriental, and Victorian influences as well as diverse
regions of the United States have been explored, as well as
specifics such as garden landscaping, presidential porcelain,
the birth of presentational silver, and the back-stories of our
well-loved early American music..
Nationally-known speakers who are recognized experts in
their respective fields have come to Waco each year to give
illustrated presentations on this vast array of themes and topics.
These men and women have offered us insight, information,
and enthusiasm in their various areas of expertise.
To continue this series of outstanding Forums, An
Illuminating Look at Louis Comfort Tiffany will showcase
many of the varied mediums through which Tiffany showed
his talent, creativity and unique designs. These will
include jewelry, pottery, blown glass, metal works, and more
examined through enlightening presentations with glowing
illustrations. The use of vibrant colors throughout all of
Tiffany’s multifaceted works will also be explored. This 2013
Forum promises to inform, educate, and entertain...as have
those of previous years. Please join us!
SPECIAL PRICING FOR
FIRST-TIME ATTENDEES
A one-time significant discount is available
to anyone who has never previously
attended Brazos Forum. For more
information or to take advantage of this
exceptional opportunity, contact Ellen
Thompson at [email protected] or call her at
254-722-4726.
to the Tiffany & Co. store at Fifth Avenue and 39th Street in New
York City. From this date until the department closed in 1933, all
of Tiffany’s jewelry and precious objects fashioned out of gold
and silver were made at that location. Ms. Zapata will discuss
the artisans who crafted the jewelry, and the objects they created.
She will discuss the influences of insects and plant forms as well
as Oriental and Middle Eastern styles that were fashionable at
the beginning of the twentieth century. Tiffany exhibited his
precious jeweled objects and jewelry to tremendous acclaim at
the great international expositions of the day.
12:15pm
Luncheon in the Great Hall of St. Paul’s Episcopal
Church followed by Bryant Stanton, stained-glass
artisan, discussing the making of stained glass, the
various types, etc. as seen in the windows of St.
Paul’s sanctuary
2:30pm
Visit In Company With Angels, exhibit of Tiffany
church windows, at the Lee Lockwood Library with
Bryant Stanton as guide
Thurs., Nov. 7, 2013
8:15am - 9:00amRegistration
Complimentary Coffee/Tea
Book Sale
9:00am - 9:15am
10:55am - 11:55am “Clara Driscoll and the
Tiffany Girls”
Dr. Martin Eidelberg
Whereas Louis C. Tiffany claimed that he was the
designer and guiding force behind his beautiful
leaded windows and lamps, recently discovered
letters written by Clara Driscoll to her family reveal
that she and a staff of thirty-five women working
under her direction were responsible for many of the
most important windows and all the exquisite floral
lamps. The famed Wisteria and Butterfly lamps, for
example, were her creations. Driscoll and the socalled Tiffany Girls also made many of the smaller
objets d’art. These letters reveal much about the
design process at Tiffany Studios and shed light on
some of the other until-now anonymous workers. Not
least of all, we learn much about Tiffany as an artist
and entrepreneur.
12:15pm
Farewell Luncheon
Mezzanine, Mayborn Museum
Dr. David Smith, senior lecturer in American History
at Baylor University, author, newspaper columnist,
and public speaker, will offer concluding remarks
Welcome Back
9:15am - 10:15am “Snakes, Skulls, and Silver – Tiffany & Co
and the Ancient Americas”
Kevin Tucker
As early as 1876, Tiffany & Co. began producing silver hollowware
designs incorporating American Indian motifs suggestive of the
romance of the “Noble Savage.” By the 1890s, the firm’s designers
began to incorporate the motifs of historic central Mexico,
developing a series of “Aztec” styled wares reflecting a growing
fascination with and artistic awareness of the sculpture and
architecture of the ancient Americas. Unparalleled in manufactured
silver, Tiffany’s rare “Aztec” works were produced into the first
decade of the 20th century, forming a brief and curious departure
for the firm, yet a key element in reflecting the Zeitgeist of this
era. Mr. Tucker will review Tiffany’s forays into Native American
iconography to the development of the “Aztec” line and its context
within the architecture and design arts of the period. 10:15am -10:45am Complimentary Coffee/Tea/Soda
Book Sale
um of Art
Photo Courtesy of the Dallas Muse
Aztec tête-à-tête coffee service,
designed c. 1897
Possibly John T. Curran, American,
1859 - 1933, designer
Tiffany and Company, American,
founded 1837, manufacturer
Location
Lectures will be held in the SBC Theatre at the Mayborn
Museum on the Baylor Campus. 1300 South University Parks
Drive.
Parking will be available near or next to the Museum. Watch
for specific details on our website in the Fall of 2013 when the
construction of the walk-way to the new football stadium is
completed.
Reservations
Make your reservations early to ensure your place for this year’s
program and events. Also, please note that reservations cannot
be accepted for one individual presentation. You must reserve
for both presentations on Wednesday, both on Thursday, or for
all four presentations.
Deadlines
Reservations for the luncheons MUST BE RECEIVED no later
than Thursday October. 31, 2013. We regret that refunds cannot
be made after Friday, November 1, 2013.
Hotels
Special rates for out of town guests will be available at local
hotels. Visit our website for more details on location, pricing,
and contact information.
For questions and additional information
Please email Ellen Thompson at [email protected] or call
(254)722-4726, leave a message, and your call will be returned.
Website
brazosforum.org
George Paulding Farnham, American,
1859 - 1927, designer
New York, New York
Silver and ivory
Silver, enamel, citrines, and garnets
Dimensions variable
Dallas Museum of Art, anonymous
gift and Discretionary Decorative
Arts Fund, 2007.64.1-4
8 x 4 x 4 in. (20.32 x 10.16 x 10.16 cm)
Dallas Museum of Art, Discretionary
Decorative Arts Fund, 2009.40
Reservation Form
An Illuminating Look at
Louis Comfort Tiffany
In the appropriate column(s) below, fill in the
number of tickets needed for each event, and the cost.
Enclose the completed form with a check payable to
The Brazos Forum. Mail to The Brazos Forum, Post
Office Box 7795, Waco, TX 76714.
Reservations for both luncheons will close
on Thursday, October 31, 2013.
We hope to offer transportation from parking lot to Museum
entrance. Visit our website for more information.
Registration, complimentary beverages, and book sales will be
offered in the Commons Area of the Museum.
Vase (for the Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo, New York), 1901
Tiffany and Company, American,
founded 1837, manufacturer
New York, New York
Information
Photo Courtesy of the Dallas
Museum of Art
Member Non-Mem.
Qty
Cost
2013 Membership Fee
(You may choose to join now or
attend and pay the non-member rate.
Membership fee includes husband and
wife when noted on the form)
If you are not sure whether you have
a current membership, please contact
Ellen Thompson at [email protected] or
call her at (254) 722-4726.
All Forum Daytime Events
$ 40
$
$115
$155
$
Wednesday Lectures (2)
$  40
$  50
$
Wednesday Luncheon
with Speaker
Wednesday Group Tour of
Angels Exhibit
$  25
$  30
$
$6 
$8 
$
Thursday Lectures (2)
$  40
$  50
$
Thursday Luncheon
$  20
$  25
$
(lectures, luncheons and exhibit hour)
Individual Events:
TOTAL AMOUNT ENCLOSED $
_________________________________________________________________
Name:
Last
First
Spouse
_________________________________________________________________
Mailing Address
_________________________________________________________________
City
State
Zip
_________________________________________________________________
Home Telephone
All Tiffany works photos
taken from
www.metmuseum.org
(except silver pieces)
□ Current Member □ Life Member □ New Member
Name(s) for Badge(s)_ ________________________________________________
Name(s) for Badge(s)_ ________________________________________________
E-mail Address_______________________________________________________________
Angel window photos
by Douglas A. Lockard
Reservations for the luncheons MUST BE RECEIVED by
Thursday, October 31, 2013.
We regret that refunds cannot be made after November 1, 2013.