Louis Comfort Tiffany: At the Metropolitan Museum of Art [Paperback]

Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1999

This book presents Tiffany's works in the context of his career, discusses his artistic themes and his devotion to nature, and sheds new light on his technical virtuosity.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 100 pages
• Publisher: HNA Books (March 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810965356
• ISBN-13: 978-0810965355
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,048,078 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not quite what I was looking for, June 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Louis Comfort Tiffany: At the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Paperback)

I bought this book expecting to find many pictures of Tiffany's wonderful stained glass windows. In that, I was disappointed, hence the two stars. There is, however, a great sampling of Tiffany's work including jewelry, lamps, and an absolutely stunning green desk collection that I had never seen before. In all it is a great collection of the artist's work and gives an excellent overview of his amazing depth.

However, since I was looking for the stained glass windows, this book wasn't quite what I was searching for. I hope to save someone else from the same mistake.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very nice overview of Tiffany's work. Not exhaustive but affordable., September 24, 2006

By 

Esther Schindler (Scottsdale, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Louis Comfort Tiffany: At the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Paperback)

I've a few books on Tiffany's stained glass work, including the definitive collection of his lamps and a cut-out paperback with photos of various windows and lamps. In terms of price and coverage, this is a Goldilocksian "just right" middle choice for someone who doesn't want a major investment but is interested in the breadth of Tiffany's work.

Primarily, this book covers the works that are owned by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, and in fact I bought my copy in its shop to help me remember my visit. (Aside: it is indeed among the best museum shops in the world, and I felt compelled to buy *something*.)

The museum does have an impressive Tiffany collection, including some of the works you've seen photographed in all the "usual places," such as his wysteria window, Autumn Landscape, and the dogwood window. It also has several lamps, vases, and -- possibly surprising to some people -- furniture, mosaics, boxes, and other items that don't get quite as much "airplay" but are still quite beautiful.

The book is separated into chapters on Tiffany's background, interiors, stained-glass windows, mosaics, favrile glass, lamps, enamels and ceramics, and jewelry, metalwork, and woodwork. The text is academic and a little dry, but suitable for the context. You learn about the provenance of the item rather than how it was constructed.

The photos are lovely, with plenty of closeups -- though not *quite* close enough, I found, for my stained-glass hobbyiest's eye. That is, the closeup of the Magnolias and Irises window shows enough detail for you to appreciate the glass and maybe the soldering, but you never see how amazingly the windows are plated. (Fortunately, the museum lets you take non-flash photos, so I have a few examples of my own.) You also see sketches and other in-progress designs, as well as other documents -- such as a drawing of a theater that Tiffany designed which was demolished in 1902.

But if an item isn't in the museum's collection, it isn't mentioned here; if you're looking for an exhaustive All About Tiffany book, this isn't it. It isn't *meant* to be an All About Tiffany book, and as other reviewers have noted, this doesn't focus on windows or lamps. And, at 100 pages, they can't include everything.

Personally, I was blown away by his mosaics (which I'd never seen before), and I realized why the favrile lamps earned him such a reputation (the photos here, like all the others, simply do not do them justice). So I'm very glad that I have this book in my growing collection; certainly, at the reasonable price it gives you a very good overview.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brief Info on Book, October 10, 2001

By 

Kelly Haggard (Greenbrier, AR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Louis Comfort Tiffany at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Paperback)

Paperback, 100 pps, over 130 illustrations
A wonderful look at the full range of works by Tiffany. Photos on every page of designs, lamps, vases, mosaics and paintings, and even a peek at his studio and some of the glass workshops. Highly recommended.