CMA Art & Fiction: Clara and Mr. Tiffany

The May selection for the Cleveland Museum of Art Art and Fiction book club is Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland. This book covers the 15 year period from 1892 through 1908 during which Clara Wolcott Driscoll from Talmadge, OH,  a talented glass designer, worked with and for Louis Comfort Tiffany in New York City.  Prior to 2005 Clara’s involvement at Tiffany Studios was unknown and the story of that discovery is as interesting as is the book.

In 2005, two art historians, Martin Eidelberg and Nina Gray, learned of two collections of letters written by Clara Driscoll to her family describing her work at Tiffany Studios.  As the author told us, these were long, descriptive letters, some as long as 12 pages.  And they included in detail her work directly with Mr. Tiffany in designing the large one-of-a-kind windows that were displayed at such places as the Chicago World Fair and which brought so much fame to Mr. Tiffany.

The two historians and Margaret K. Hofer, Curator of Decorative Arts at the New York Historical Society, studied those letters and put together an exhibition entitled A New Light on Tiffany: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls which opened at the New York Historical Society in 2007.

The Tiffany Girls were discovered in Clara’s letters as a department of up to 25 women, headed by Clara Driscoll, who built those beautiful windows.  They took the drawings developed by Clara and Mr. Tiffany, reproduce them to scale on large sheets called cartoons, selected glass in the colors and variations of pattern specified by the design, cut the pattern pieces, then cut the glass, bound the edges and put them together to form the window.  They had to determine, under Clara’s supervision, how many layers of glass to apply to create the shadows and light sources necessary to reproduce the design concepts envisioned by Mr. Tiffany.  These were highly skilled women working in a man’s profession in a man’s world because Mr. Tiffany believed they could do it better.  But all the fame and glory went to Mr. Tiffany and until 2007 the art world didn’t know they ever existed.

In addition, the letters convinced the historians that the beautiful, ornate Tiffany lamps were Clara’s original idea, were designed by her and presented to Mr. Tiffany for approval and authorization to produce.

Susan Vreeland used these letters and other historical research as the basis for her historically accurately novel.  Not just on the work at Tiffany Studios and development of Mr. Tiffany’s  reputation, but also on the growth of New York City and the development of the New Woman, all of  which was taking place during those years.

Aside from reading and discussing the book, we had the opportunity to have a tour of CMA’s Tiffany exhibits lead by Stephen Harrison, Curator of Decorative Art and Design at CMA.  Next Wednesday we meet at Lake View Cemetery to see the Tiffany windows at Wade Chapel and Garfield Monument.

These are three Wednesday afternoons in May that I am very glad I am retired.