Louis Comfort Tiffany

Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933), painter and designer of decorative-glass art objects in the Art Nouveau style. Tiffany was born in New York. After studying painting with the American artists George Inness and Samuel Colman in New York, he went to Paris for further study. For a time he remained in Europe, painting oils and watercolours. Among his most outstanding paintings is Snake Charmer at Tangiers (c. 1915, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Returning to New York he turned his attention to media other than paints. He established a glassmaking factory and experimented with stained glass for decorative-art objects. He is best remembered for inventing a process for making an opalescent glass, known as Tiffany favrile glass, which he used to fashion colourful windows, vases, lamps, and other decorative-art objects. Much prized by collectors today, the pieces are characterized by the curved and delicate lines of the Art Nouveau style.

Among the most famous of Tiffany's works is an enormous glass curtain for the National Theatre in Mexico City. He also designed jewellery, rugs, and textiles. In 1877 he helped organize the Society of American Artists. He was director of art for the Tiffany Studios and president and director of art for Tiffany and Company, the jeweller’s shop founded by his father.