Clara and Mr. Tiffany
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NATIONAL BESTSELLER It’s 1893, and at the Chicago World’s Fair, Louis Comfort Tiffany makes his debut with a luminous exhibition of innovative stained-glass windows that he hopes will earn him a place on the international artistic stage. But behind the scenes in his New York studio is the freethinking Clara Driscoll, head of his women’s division, who conceives of and designs nearly all of the iconic leaded-glass lamps for which Tiffany will long be remembered. Never publicly acknowledged, Clara struggles with her desire for artistic recognition and the seemingly insurmountable challenges that she faces as a professional woman. She also yearns for love and companionship, and is devoted in different ways to five men, including Tiffany, who enforces a strict policy: He does not employ married women. Ultimately, Clara must decide what makes her happiest—the professional world of her hands or the personal world of her heart.
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Nice introduction to the art nouveau movement in the early 1900s as well as the art glass design pioneer Louis Tiffany. Clara was an unacknowledged key player in the design of Tiffany lamps and other art glass crafts. A side plot describes the plight of immigrants and women workers during a time when neither group had a voice or power over their working and living conditions. The highlights of the book for me were Clara Driscoll's thoughts about how nature informed her design process and how necessary the freedom of creativity was to her sense of well-being.
The extensive historical research the author completed to write such a convincing portrayal is evident, from descriptions of the various Tiffany lamps and stained-glass panels, to the setting and mood of a Lower East Side immigrant slum. If you're interested in early 1900s New York City history or the art nouveau movement, you'll find this book well worth your time.
