The Tiffany Exhibition: A Passion for Colour

Quilters know how we can get when we are entrenched in a project.  My husband felt that I should get out of the house, so he offered to go to Montréal and see the Tiffany exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

First, let’s differentiate between America's famous jeweler Tiffany & Co., in New York, founded by Louis's father, Charles L. Tiffany, and the glass and decorating companies of his son, Louis C. Tiffany.

Tiffany set out to become a painter, training in New York and Paris.  Tiffany exhibited his paintings and watercolours in international exhibitions, where he gained great acclaim. 

Eventually, Tiffany’s interests evolved, and he established his own decorating company and began receiving commissions from prominent Americans.  His company offered everything the imagination could desire …and then Tiffany discovered glass.    

Tiffany began to integrate glass in many forms in these interiors, including leaded-glass windows and lamps.  With glass, Tiffany was curious to experiment with the colours and brilliance as they changed under natural or artificial light, and he was captivated by the effects that could be captured by craftsmen.  New techniques were honed, using a combination of traditional glass techniques and an original, free approach.

Tiffany developed the making of stained-glass windows into an enormous business, using different types of glasses (2 which he patented himself), techniques and embellishments to create never-seen before works of art. 

The Montréal exhibition is breathtaking, and it is both varied and interesting.  Tiffany’s most famous designs are being displayed and they are nothing short of awe-inspiring.   Also a part of the exhibition is Tiffany stained glass windows originally made more than a century ago for the American Presbyterian Church.  That Church and its windows were acquired by the Montreal Museum in 2008.   

Some of Tiffany’s windows on display would make tremendous quilts, and I am surprised that we have not yet seen an adaptation of his work from glass to fabric. The colors and richness of subject would make for very challenging and beautiful quilts.

If you get a chance to see this exhibition, I encourage you to do it.  Tiffany’s work is fantastic and revolutionary.  The show is on in Montreal until May 2^nd, 2010, and it’s sure to inspire you.