National Museum of African American History and Culture Breaks Ground

First New York Exhibition to Focus on Tiffany’s Paintings in More than Three Decades

Drawn from an important Long Island collection, “The Paintings of Louis Comfort Tiffany: Works from a Long Island Collection” is a major exhibition that showcases approximately 125 oils and works on paper by Louis Comfort Tiffany, an American artist most closely associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements. This exhibition, the first focusing on Tiffany’s paintings to be seen in the New York metropolitan area since 1979 opens at Nassau County Museum of Art on December 10, 2011 and remains on view through March 18, 2012. Centered on Tiffany’s paintings, which he created for himself to memorialize his travels and surroundings, The Paintings of Louis Comfort Tiffany offers an uncommon glimpse into the artist’s personal world. The exhibition also includes some examples of Tiffany’s decorative arts, especially stained glass lamps and windows.

Louis Comfort Tiffany, Travelers Near Cairo

Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) created light-filled works suffused with Orientalism and employing sensuous Art Nouveau lines. Tiffany’s paintings and decorative arts contrasted sharply with the era’s prevailing dark Victorian décor and had a powerful influence on the evolving aesthetics of the wealthy and famous of the Gilded Age.

The approximately 125 paintings in the exhibition include many subjects inspired by his travels to the Middle East, among them, Camel Watering Hole; Luxor, Egypt; Travelers Near Cairo; and Temple of Ramses, Abu Simbel as well as subjects closer to home such as Pushing Off the Boat at Sea Bright, New Jersey and Cows in Pond or his much-loved Long Island home as seen in Fountain at Laurelton Hall and View of Laurelton Hall.

The museum will be offering several public programs in conjunction with this exhibition of Tiffany’s paintings. Included are talks by Franklin Hill Perrell, the museum’s former senior curator; Lindsy Parrott, the director of the Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass; a film about Tiffany that will be screened three times each day; and two Brown Bag Lectures followed by exhibition tours. For details, visit the museum’s website, nassaumuseum.org/Events.

Tiffany, Travelers Near Cairo, n.d.jpg (540 KB)

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