The Hand Women Play in Art

By Sydni Pollard

On the fourth floor of the spacious New York Historical Museum where the Center for Women’s History is located, lives the Gallery of Tiffany Lamps. It shows the development of Tiffany’s Studios and the women who played a major part in its innovation. It sheds light on the people who didn’t get as much credit in the making of these lamps.

The New York Historical Museum exhibits artworks, manuscripts, and more to showcase the history of New York City. It does this through the creations and anecdotes of the diverse people whose creativity and rebelliousness have taken part in the city’s development.

The beautiful array of colors against the quiet and dim lighting of the exhibit makes the artwork and the hard work of these women glow. You walk into a maze of intricate- mostly floral designs and colored light, with interactive blurbs to go along with it. In them it details how the development of electricity was a natural aid in the development of these lamps. The set up is simplistic, which allows the artwork to stand out completely. In a time where women weren’t working as much as men, Driscoll and many other women worked hard to actively make the lamps Tiffany is known for. He believed that women were the best at making his vision come to life.

The blurbs in the gallery detail the story of Louis C. Tiffany, who started Tiffany Studios and hired Clara Driscoll to manage the Women’s Glass Cutting Department. Driscoll designed most of the lampshades and mosaics and helped during the process of making these lamps. Her and “Tiffany’s Girls” (the other women who designed and created these lamps) were ahead of their time, along with Tiffany, as they got paid well (for the time) for their work. Tiffany respected their contribution to his company and went out of his way to hire them.

The middle of the exhibit has a glowy staircase leading to even more intricate and beautiful designs While the bottom floor tells the story of Tiffany and the women who mostly created his lamps. The top floor doesn’t have as much information. most of your focus will be on into focusing on these designs. The light illuminating from these objects creating a kaleidoscope of colors. The closer you get to it the more details you notice. The more you stare the more in awe. Tiffany and Driscoll heavily drew inspiration from nature, so strolling in between these lamps and objects felt like walking through a garden- serene and masterfully built.

Being there will have time moving fast and before you know it you’ve spent close to an hour in there.