Clara Driscoll
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Until as recently as 2005 it was still popular belief that Louis C. Tiffany himself had played a major role in the design of all of his lamps. We now know, based on the research of scholars and archivists, that a woman named Clara Driscoll was in fact the main designer behind many works of Tiffany Studios, including the Dragonfly Lamp. Clara Driscoll was born Clara Pierce Wolcott on December 15th, 1861 in Tallmadge, Ohio. She attended design school in Cleveland before moving to New York to enroll in the Metropolitan Museum of Art school. Shortly after, in 1888, she started working at Tiffany Studios and remained there for over 20 years. It is said, "that it was Clara Driscoll and her “girls,” and not Louis Comfort Tiffany nor his large staff of male designers, who had designed and executed some of the studio’s most prized and valuable lamps, specifically those bearing natural motifs like insects and flowers." (Jeffrey Kastner, The New York Times) (1.)
Louis Comfort Tiffany
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Louis Comfort Tiffany was the name and face behind Tiffany Studios and the Tiffany Lamps. He was born on February 18, 1848 in New York, New York. He had a widespread education in the arts, and despite being attracted to works in stained glass and glass-making, Tiffany initially trained to become a painter. He studied under many well known artists in New York, New Jersey and Paris. He also attended the National Academy of Design in NYC. He worked at several glasshouses between 1875-1878. By 1885 Tiffany chose to start his own glass-making firm which later became known as Tiffany Studios in 1902. Also by that time he became the first Design Director for Tiffany & Co., the popular jewelry company which was founded by his father, Charles Lewis Tiffany. The majority of his production was in making stained glass windows (elaborate works found in many churches) and Tiffany Lamps, but his company also designed a wide range of interior decorations. By 1919 Tiffany had retired from Tiffany Studios and created a foundation in his name to help train young artists. New management had taken over Tiffany Studios and they eventually filed for bankruptcy in 1932. Tiffany died on January 17, 1933. (3.)