Art Nouveau: Lighting With Style - University Museums

Art Nouveau: Lighting With Style
The exhibition Art Nouveau: Lighting with Style highlights the newly electrified 1880s campus and
Farm House through objects that tell the story of this artistic movement.
Beginning in the late 1880s until the First World War (1914-1918), Europe
and the United States witnessed the development of the Art Nouveau
or "New Art" movement. Inspired by the organic, Art Nouveau style was
synonymous with botanical forms and ocean creatures – the natural
world at its most intricate and sinuous. Art Nouveau’s foundation was in
the Aesthetic Movement following the credo “art for art’s sake,” the Arts
and Crafts Movement of hand crafted objects, and the influx of Japanese
design. “The unfolding of Art Nouveau's flowing line may be understood
as a metaphor for the freedom and release sought by its practitioners and
admirers from the weight of artistic tradition and critical expectations.1
This exhibition continues the focus on the electrification of the Iowa State
Campus and the Farm House with a feature on Art Nouveau lamps and
Location: Parlor
light fixtures. The Art Nouveau Movement encompassed architecture,
Gift of the Helen and Rex Cook Estate
Shade: 8 x 20 1/4 inches
graphic and printed materials, furniture and decorative arts. Featured in
Base: 26 x 9 inches
UM2012.184
this exhibition are light fixtures, furniture and decorative art objects from the
most prominent artists who practiced during the Art Nouveau Movement
in both Europe and America - Louis Comfort Tiffany, Emile Gallé, Meriden
Handel, Victor Durand, Steuben Glass Company, Daum, Andre Delatte, Pallme-König und Habel,
Thomas Webb and Sons, LeVerre, and Loetz.
The first stages of electrified lighting on campus began in 1884, four short
years from when Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. Previously, the
campus was lit by candles, kerosene, and gas supplied by numerous
generators. Old Main, the pre-cursor to Beardshear Hall, was the first
building to receive electric lights under a contract with Western Edison
Light Company. Two years later, the number of lights on campus had
almost doubled. By 1898 the first exterior light on the campus grounds
was installed.2 In November 1902, the ISC Student newspaper reported.
“Each night shows more lights distributed of the campus, their friendly rays
lending light to the wandering pedestrian.”
This exhibition is organized by University Museums and funded through the estate of Neva
Location: 2nd Floor Hallway
Petersen with many objects from the permanent collections of Helen and Rex Cook and Ann Gift of Estyle A. Wright Estate
19 x 18 inches
and Henry Brunnier, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
UM86.159
1. Gontar, Cybele. "Art Nouveau". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum
of Art, 2000. Retrieved 11/15/2012 from: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/artn/hd_artn.htm
2. Day, H. Summerfield. The Iowa State University Campus and Its Buildings 1859-1979. pg. 84-86. Retrieved 10/15/12 from: http://www.lib.iastate.
Victor Durand (French, 1924-1931)
Victor Durand (1870-1931) was born in France and came to America in 1884. He started to work in glass and
eventually owned his own glass factory, Vineland Flint Glass Works. Durand started the Artistic Glass Division
in 1924 and began to produce world famous artistic glass. Durand Art Glass was produced for seven brief
years (1924 to 1931) in Vineland, New Jersey, by Victor Durand. Durand began his art glass project by bringing
Martin Bach, Jr. from the Imperial Glass Company of Bellaire, Ohio to direct work at the Fancy Shop. He then
recruited former glass workers from the recently closed Quezal Art Glass works to produce the new artistic
designs. Durand art glass was produced in a very wide variety of glass types and forms, including covered
jars, bowls, vases, perfumes, powder boxes, lamps, rose bowls, finger bowls, wines, goblets, candlesticks,
and tableware -- and in a variety of decorative treatments. Many of the objects were blown utilizing an unusual
shiny yellow glass which the workers called oil glass. This glass was used either as a primary glass or in
combination with other glass colors. Most collectors utilize the term Ambergris to refer to this type of glass.
The quality of the company's art glass was quickly recognized, and, in 1926, Durand art glass was awarded a
medal of honor at the Sesquicentennial International Exposition in Philadelphia.
[Source: http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/biographies/MainBiographies/D/Durandde/Durand.htm]
Location: 3rd Floor West Room
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
21 1/2 x 13 inches
UM2012.197
Location: Parlor
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
11 1/4 x 4 1/8 inches
UM2012.116
Location: Parlor
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
7 1/2 x 6 1/4 inches
UM2010.167
Location: 2nd Floor Hallway
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
5 1/2 x 6 inches
UM2012.151
Location: Parlor
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
19 1/2 x 11 inches
UM2000.79
Location: 2nd Floor Hallway
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
10 x 3 5/8 inches
UM2012.111
Location: Library
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
4 x 5 1/4 inches
UM2012.131
Pallme-König und Habel (Czechoslovakia, c. 1900)
"In or around 1900, Wilhelm Habel, co-owner of the glassworks, obtained 'a patent
for a process to produce surface-decorated glass, a special type of decoration
with glass threads encircling the vase'. Pallme-König vessels stand apart from
other contemporary works, as the designs explored the inherent possibilities of
glassmaking in a manner that other Czechoslovakian manufactures had not done
up to that point. Glass was treated as if it were clay, twisted, sheared, bent, and
given a torn quality near the mouths of the objects, all to create fantastic contortions
in the design. Of the glass produced during the Czechoslovakian Jugendstil
period, perhaps the most distinctive, most frequently imitated by others, and most
misunderstood, is that of Pallme-König und Habel. From the 1860’s to the 1880’s
many objects in catalogues and art glass history books were mistakenly attributed
to the manufactuter, while other objects were attributed to Loetz and were later
classified as Pallme-König."
[Source: http://www.loetz.com/pallmekoenig1.htm]
Daum (French, 1878 - today)
"Jean Daum (1825-1885) acquired a Glassworks in Nancy. There is a histroic tradition of glassmaking in
the Lorraine region of France. In his workshop, Daum created servies of cut glasses, gilded bottles, objects
adorned with coat-of-arms, figures, and engraved emblems. During the Paris Exposition in 1900 the Grand
Prix was awarded to Daum. Ornementation became more elaborate and was enriched by new techniques:
vitrification, intercalary decoration, and the application of motifs in reliefs. In association with Emile Gallé
and Majorelle, Daum created the École de Nancy in 1901, which became the vanguard of the Art Nouveau
Movement."1 "In 1906 Daum revived pâte de verre (glass paste), an ancient Egyptian method of glass casting.
He developed the method so that by the 1930s Daum's window panels used pâte de verre for richness instead
of leaded or painted glass. Currently Daum is the only commercial crystal manufacturer employing the pâte de
verre, glass paste process, for art glass and crystal sculptures, a technique in which crushed glass is packed
into a refractory mould and then fused in a kiln."2
[Source: 1: http://www.daum.fr/#/en-eu/history/ 2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daum_%28studio%29]
Location: Parlor
Gift of Ann and Henry Brunnier
12 1/4 x 7 7/8 inches
3.7.29
Location: Strawberry Room
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
15 x 6 inches
UM2002.12
Location: Dining Room
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
15 3/4 x 6 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches
UM2012.159
Loetz Factory (Bohemian, 1836 - 1947)
The Loetz (or Lötz) factory was founded by Johann Baptist Eisner (1797 - 1847) in 1836 in the Bohemian
village of Klostermühle. In 1840 the company was taken over by Johann Loetz and several years later, after
his death in 1851, the widow Susanne Gerstner-Loetz continued her husband's work. Max Ritter von Spaun,
grandson of Johann Loetz, made the firm one of the greatest glassworks in central Europe at the end of the
19th century. Loetz became the premier Bohemian art glass manufacturer during the Art Nouveau period,
roughly from 1890 to 1920. The company became known for its innovative techniques, organic forms, and
bold use of color. It held several glass patents, as such a technique to produce a deep blue or gold metallic
luster. The company displayed an award winning range of glass items, named Onyx, at the Paris International
Exposition in 1889. Several glass artists worked on the designs for the Loetz factory of which Marie Kirschner
(principal artist of the firm) is the most famous. Other artists that worked with the factory were: Koloman Moser,
Josef Hoffman, Marie Wilfert-Waltl, Franz Hofstätter, Otto Prutscher and C. Witzmann. In the second half of
the 1880's Octopus glass was developed, which resembles the tentacles of a cephalopod.
[Source: http://www.glass-wiki.net/Loetz.ashx]
Location: Parlor
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
7 1/2 x 2 3/4 inches
UM2000.82
Location: Dining Room
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
6 x 5 1/8 inches
UM2012.111
Location: 3rd Floor East Room
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
17 x 14 1/2 x10 inches
UM2002.13
Location: Library
Gift of Robert A. Wright Estate
Right: 6 1/16 x 5 7/8 inches UM85.287
Left: 4 1/2 x 4 1/8 inches UM85.228
Location: Dining Room
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
11 3/8 x 5 1/2 x 6 inches
UM2012.110
Handel Company (American, 1876 - 1936)
"Philip Julius Handel (1866 - 1914) first established the Handel Company in Meriden,
Connecticut in 1876. The company specialized in high quality reverse painted lamp
shades and were generally considered a less expensive alternative to the Tiffany
lamp popularized by Louis Comfort Tiffany. Adolph Eydam joined the company in 1885
and the company's name was changed to Eydam and Handel Company, adding a
specialization in glass decorating and lamp manufacturing. Following World War I the
company experienced tremendous growth. The economy was roaring and the company
had assembled a very impressive and talented group of artists and craftsmen. However,
the Great Depression drastically changed the company's fortunes and was struggling
by 1929. and the Handel Lamp Company ceased production completely in 1936."
[Source: http://www.victoriana.com/Lighting/handellamp.htm]
Location: Welch Bedroom
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
14 x 6 5/8 inches
UM2012.169
Andre Delatte (French, 1921 - 1933)
"André Delatte (1887 - 1953) founded a small glassworks at Jarville, near Nancy, France,
in 1921, where he produced large quantities of glass vessels. Delatte specialized in
high-quality cameo glass from the beginning. The two or three layered glass vessels
had their designs etched with hydrofluoric acid with little or no additional wheel-carving.
His floral and landscape designs are well conceived and executed, appropriately
matching the shape of the vessel. The shapes themselves are well proportioned and
attractive, with beautiful and strong colors, such as rich blues or orange. Delatte also
produced variations of popular Daum designs, which resulted in a number of law suits.
The financial crisis in Europe and the increase of production coming from the eastern
Europe caused Delatte's glassworks to shut down in 1933."
[Source: http://www.victoriana.com/Lighting/handellamp.htm]
Location: North Bedroom
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook
Estate
16 1/2 x 6 1/4 inches
UM2012.170
Emile Gallé (French, 1883-1931)
Emile Gallé (1846 - 1904) was involved in the naturalist movement associated with the
École de Nancy and with Art Nouveau. He designed ceramics and furniture as well as
his more recognizable glass. He began his work in glass by exploring the technique
of enameling on glass. The first works of enameled glass were produced soon after
1874 and these were signed in brown enamel or gilt. His finest work was produced
from 1878 onward. He took inspiration from verses or romantic symbolism and from
18th century Chinese and Japanese artists which inspired him to revive the cameoglass technique. Gallé eventually succumbed to mass production to popularize Art
Nouveau products. After hs death in 1904, his family continued to manage the facory
until it was closed down in 1931, having never recovered from the financial crisis in
1929. Permanent Collection examples of Gallé glass objects and lamps are included
in this exhibition and in the French Art Nouveau exhibition at the Brunnier Art Museum.
Location: Parlor
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
Shade: 6 x 11 1/2 inches
Base: 19 1/4 x 12 inches
UM2012.185
Steuben Glass Works (American, 1903-2011)
"Steuben Glass Works was an American art glass manufacturer, founded in
the summer of 1903 by Fredrick C. Carder (English, 1863-1963) and Thomas
G. Hawkes (Irish-American, 1848-1913) in Corning, New York. Hawkes was
the owner of the largest cut glass firm then operating in Corning. Carder was
an Englishman who had many years' experience designing glass for Stevens
and Williams in England. Hawkes purchased the glass blanks for his cutting
shop from many sources and eventually wanted to start a factory to make the
blanks himself. Hawkes convinced Carder to come to Corning and manage
such a factory. Carder, who had been passed over for promotion at Stevens
and Williams, consented to do so.
Steuben Glass Works started operation in October Location: Sewing Rom
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
1903. Carder produced blanks for Hawkes and 4 1/8 x 4 5/8 inches
also began producing cut glass himself. Carder's UM2012.135
great love was colored glass and had been
instrumental in the reintroduction of colored
glass while at Stevens and Williams. When Steuben's success at producing glass
blanks for Hawkes became assured, Carder began to experiment with colored
glass and continued experiments that were started in England. He soon perfected
Gold Aurene which was similar to iridescent art glass that was being produced by
Tiffany and others. Gold Aurene was followed by a wide range of colored art glass
that eventually was produced in more than 7,000 shapes and 140 colors.
Steuben Glass Works continued to produce glass
of all sorts until World War I. At that time war
time restrictions made it impossible for Steuben
to acquire the materials needed to continue
Location: Parlor
manufacture.
The company was subsequently
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
7 x 4 3/8 inches
sold to Corning Glass Works and became the
UM2012.136
Steuben Division. Carder continued as Division
manager without any real change in the company's
operation except that he now had reporting responsibilities to Corning Glass
Works' management. Corning's management tried, mostly unsuccessfully,
to limit the articles that Steuben made to only the most popular. Production
continued until about 1932."
[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steuben_Glass_Works]
Location: Stawberry Room
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
4 1/2 x 4 inches
UM2007.40
Farm House Museum
Art Nouveau: Lighting with Style
Additional information on the Farm House Museum and University Museums is available at
the University Museums office - 290 Scheman building (2nd floor) 515-294-3342. Visit us
online at www.museums.iastate.edu.
This fact sheet was developed by Stephanie Derner, Farm House Museum Undergraduate Assistant.
Art Nouveau: Decoration with Style
Le Verre Français (French, 1918-1933)
"Le Verre Francais cameo glass was produced by the Schneider glassworks at Epinaysur-Seine, France, from ca. 1918–1933. Charles Schneider (1881 - 1952) developed
the LVF line in a marketing move to reach a broader public taste with an aesthetically
pleasing product. His grandson, Jean-Charles Schneider, states in Bertrand’s book that
Charles Schneider was the first to use modern marketing techniques for decorative arts.
Charles Schneider developed all the designs for both lines of glass, but for LVF he gave
the craftsmen freedom to select color, shape and size."
[Source: http://www.artfulmilieu.com/LeVerre.html]
Location: Dining Room
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
12 3/8 x 5 inches
UM2012.157
Paul Nicolas (d'Argental) (French, 1914-1952)
"Paul Nicolas (1875 - 1952) was a student of Emilie Gallé before he left to create his own
glassworks in 1919 with the support of Cristalleries de Saint-Louis. He signed his first
productions Argental, then, from the late 1920s, his name, P. Nicolas, occasionally adding
the word Nancy. Paul Nicolas' style evolved with time: the signed works of Argental
are typical of the École de Nancy, then gradually diverge, particularly in showing the
influence of the "art deco". The company enjoyed great success until the economic crisis
of 1929, which also coincided with public disaffection for new art. It continued production
until Nicolas' sudden death in 1952."
[Source: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Nicolas_%28ma%C3%AEtre_verrier%29l]
Location: Library
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
11 1/2 x 4 1/8 inches
UM2012.114
Thomas Webb & Sons (English, 1840 - 1919)
"Thomas and George Woodall were English glass engravers who made the finest
classically inspired English cameo glass. They were responsible for changing the
thinking concerning cameo glass colors turning away from the traditional pinky
hues to vibrant reds, blues and yellows. They extended the range of colors to
be particularly suited to the manufacture of ladies perfume bottles, often called
scent bottles. The company, known originally as the Crystal King of England,
was noted for the high quality of its cameo glass."
Location: Strawberry Bedroom
Gift of Ann and Henry Brunnier Estate
Right: 6 x 4 7/8 Inches 3.8.25
Left: 8 1/8 x 3 7/16 inches 3.8.24
[Source: http://www.antiquecolouredglass.info/Thomas%20Webb%20Glass.htm]
Honesdale Decorating Company (American, 1901 - 1932)
"Honesdale Decorating Company was established in 1901 in Honesdale, PA by C.
Dorflinger & Sons and operated by Carl F. Prosch of N.Y. Its original function was to
decorate Dorflinger & Sons wares with etched, engraved and gilded designs. In 1916
Prosch purchased the company from Dorflinger and operated it until it closed in 1932."
[Source: http://chataboutdg.com/gallery/cat305.html]
Location: Strawberry Bedroom
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
6 1/4 x 3 3/4 inches
UM2012.152
Location: Parlor
Gift of Robert A. Wright Estate
10 inches
UM85.220
Location: 2nd Floor Hallway
Kew Blas of the Union Glass Company
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
7 x 3 1/4 inches
Location: Library
Gift of Robert A. Wright Estate
27 x 19 inches
UM85.249
UM2012.188
Location: Parlor
6 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches
81.9.10
Location: 3rd Floor East Bedroom
Gift of Neva Petersen
38 1/4 25 x 19 inches
77.6.1
Location: Parlor
Set of five chairs and one settee
76.1.2-.7
Farm House Museum
Art Nouveau: Decoration with Style
Additional information on the Farm House Museum and University Museums is available at
the University Museums office - 290 Scheman building (2nd floor) 515-294-3342. Visit us
online at www.museums.iastate.edu.
This fact sheet was developed by Stephanie Derner, Farm House Museum Undergraduate Assistant.
Farm House Museum
Art Nouveau: Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany (American, 1892 - 1924)
Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848 - 1933) is best known for his Art Nouveau
designs of glass vessels, lamps and windows, but he also created
various other media including metal work, furniture, jewelry and
ceramics. Permanent Collection examples of Tiffany glass, metalwork
and blown and stained glass lamps are included in this exhibition.
Tiffany’s career spanned over five decades at his namesake Tiffany
Studios (1880-1930) which evolved into the more recognizable and
contemporary Tiffany & Company.
"As the son of Charles Lewis Tiffany (1812–1902), founder of Tiffany
& Company, the fancy goods store that became the renowned jewelry
and silver firm, Louis Comfort Tiffany chose to pursue his own artistic
interests in lieu of joining the family business. By late 1892 or early
1893, Tiffany built a glasshouse in Corona, Queens, New York, and,
Lamp
with Arthur Nash, a skilled glassworker from Stourbridge, England, his Daffodil
Location: Parlor
furnaces developed a method whereby different colors were blended Gift of Helen and Rex Estate
Base: 26 x 9 Inches
together in the molten state, achieving subtle effects of shading Shade: 8 x 20 1/4 Inches
and texture. Recalling the Old English word fabrile (hand-wrought), UM2012.184
Tiffany named the blown glass from his furnaces Favrile, a trademark
that signified glass of hand-made and unique quality. Of all of Tiffany's artistic endeavors, leadedglass brought him the greatest recognition. Tiffany and his early rival, John La Farge, revolutionized
the look of stained glass, which had remained essentially unchanged
since medieval times when craftsmen utilized flat panes of white and
colored glass with details painted with glass paints before firing and
leading. Tiffany and La Farge experimented with new types of glass and
achieved a more varied palette with richer hues and greater density.
By 1881, each had patented an opalescent glass, a unique American
phenomenon that featured a milky, opaque, and sometimes rainbowhued appearance with the introduction of light. Internally colored with
variegated shades of the same or different hues, Tiffany's Favrile
glass enabled craftsmen to substitute random tonal gradations, lines,
textures, and densities inherent in the material itself for pictorial details
and illustrated Tiffany's ability to 'paint' with glass."
Acorn Lamp
Location: Library
Gift of Helen and Rex Estate
16 1/2 x 13 7/8 Inches
UM2000.78
[Source: Frelinghuysen, Alice Cooney, and Monica Obniski. "Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933)".
In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.
metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tiff/hd_tiff.htm (July 2007)]
Location: Northwest Bedroom
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
Base: 55 x 13 inches
Shade: 3 3/4 x 5 1/8 inches
UM2012.212 (B) UM2012.138 (S)
Location: Library
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
21 x 11 x 7 1/2 inches
Location: Parlor
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
Base: 22 x 9 1/4 x 8 1/4 inches
Shade: 10 1/4 x 13 inches
UM2002.8
UM2012.207
Six Lilies Lamp
Location: Dining Room
Gift of Helen and Rex Cook Estate
20 1/2 inches Shades; 2 3/8 inches
UM2007.38
Location: Parlor
Gift of Estyl M. Wright Estate
3 1/8 x 10 1/8 inches
UM2012.121
Location: Dining Room
Gift of Ann and Henry Brunnier
8 inches
Location: Welch Bedroom
Gift of Estyl M. Wright Estate
12 x 10 inches
3.15.100
UM86.283
Location: Library
Gift of Robert A. Wright Estate
10 x 12 1/2 inches
UM85.215
Farm House Museum
Art Nouveau: Louis Comfort Tiffany
Additional information on the Farm House Museum and University Museums is available
at the University Museums office - 290 Scheman building (2nd floor) 515-294-3342. Visit
us online at www.museums.iastate.edu.
This fact sheet was developed by Stephanie Derner, Farm House Museum Undergraduate Assistant.