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Lot 128
TIFFANY STUDIOS
Twenty-Two Archival photographs from the former collection of Agnes Northrop, circa 1898-1920
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USD 23,750
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TIFFANY STUDIOS
Twenty-Two Archival photographs from the former collection of Agnes Northrop, circa 1898-1920
comprising: 12 albumen prints, 9 gelatin silver prints, 1 photogravure
each mounted on board and inscribed Agnes Northrop (mount, recto), variously stamped L.C TIFFANY PHOTO and variously titled and annotated in ink and pencil
14 ½ x 11 ¼ in. (36.7 x 28.6 cm) each
Twenty-Two Archival photographs from the former collection of Agnes Northrop, circa 1898-1920
comprising: 12 albumen prints, 9 gelatin silver prints, 1 photogravure
each mounted on board and inscribed Agnes Northrop (mount, recto), variously stamped L.C TIFFANY PHOTO and variously titled and annotated in ink and pencil
14 ½ x 11 ¼ in. (36.7 x 28.6 cm) each
TIFFANY STUDIOS
Twenty-Two Archival photographs from the former collection of Agnes Northrop, circa 1898-1920
comprising: 12 albumen prints, 9 gelatin silver prints, 1 photogravure
each mounted on board and inscribed Agnes Northrop (mount, recto), variously stamped L.C TIFFANY PHOTO and variously titled and annotated in ink and pencil
14 ½ x 11 ¼ in. (36.7 x 28.6 cm) each
Twenty-Two Archival photographs from the former collection of Agnes Northrop, circa 1898-1920
comprising: 12 albumen prints, 9 gelatin silver prints, 1 photogravure
each mounted on board and inscribed Agnes Northrop (mount, recto), variously stamped L.C TIFFANY PHOTO and variously titled and annotated in ink and pencil
14 ½ x 11 ¼ in. (36.7 x 28.6 cm) each
Agnes Northrop, Flushing, New York
Beatrice de Mauriac, gifted from the above
Christie’s East, New York, 2 October 1980, lot 427A
Lillian Nassau, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Beatrice de Mauriac, gifted from the above
Christie’s East, New York, 2 October 1980, lot 427A
Lillian Nassau, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner
D. Peduto, Some Decorative Arts of the Tiffany Studios, New York, 1989, pp. 34, 40, 50 of the present lot illustrated
Louis Comfort Tiffany: Artistry in Glass, the Seymore and Evelyn Holtzman Collection, exh. cat., Boca Raton Museum of Art, Florida, 2007, n.p, of the present lot illustrated
Louis Comfort Tiffany: Artistry in Glass, the Seymore and Evelyn Holtzman Collection, exh. cat., Boca Raton Museum of Art, Florida, 2007, n.p, of the present lot illustrated
Please visit Christie's.com for further images of this lot.
The present lot is a collection of photographs used by Tiffany Studios as inspiration for their designs. A selection of these photographs were taken by Tiffany Studios photographers, including Louis Comfort Tiffany himself, as indicated by his name stamped on the photo LOUIS C TIFFANY PHOTO, others likely taken by Agnes Northrop. Several of these are staged and curated vignettes, such as a bouquet of flowers in an opulent vase, set in front of an exceptional piece of Tiffany drapery glass surrounded by other botanical elements. Others are moments captured in nature, bringing insight to the visions that most inspired and enchanted Tiffany Studios, such as the gentle group of Wisteria blooms or Magnolia flowers emerging in the early spring. In one of her letters, Clara Driscoll refers to Agnes Northrop’s newly acquired fascination with photography: “Miss Northrop has a sixty dollars camera and has taken some beautiful photographs of dogwoods, ferns and other plants that are so fine. They are of great value to her. The only trouble is that the expense only begun once the camera is bought. Each photograph costs something” (June 15, 1898). Other photographs were likely commissioned from outside photographers, such as George Collins Cox, known at the time for his portraits of artists and other important personalities of the day, sculptor Auguste Saint-Gaudens, poet Walt Whitman as well as Tiffany’s parent’s Mr. & Mrs. Charles E. Tiffany. Cox’s name appears embossed on the mount of one of photographs along with that of Louis Tiffany. On the back of a few of these photographs, Tiffany Studios designers sketched out ideas and designs for future creations. Other images are commercial, some selected from books and magazines of the time and archived by the Studios. These range from flowers to famous sculptures and works of art and travel photographs of faraway places.
The present lot is a collection of photographs used by Tiffany Studios as inspiration for their designs. A selection of these photographs were taken by Tiffany Studios photographers, including Louis Comfort Tiffany himself, as indicated by his name stamped on the photo LOUIS C TIFFANY PHOTO, others likely taken by Agnes Northrop. Several of these are staged and curated vignettes, such as a bouquet of flowers in an opulent vase, set in front of an exceptional piece of Tiffany drapery glass surrounded by other botanical elements. Others are moments captured in nature, bringing insight to the visions that most inspired and enchanted Tiffany Studios, such as the gentle group of Wisteria blooms or Magnolia flowers emerging in the early spring. In one of her letters, Clara Driscoll refers to Agnes Northrop’s newly acquired fascination with photography: “Miss Northrop has a sixty dollars camera and has taken some beautiful photographs of dogwoods, ferns and other plants that are so fine. They are of great value to her. The only trouble is that the expense only begun once the camera is bought. Each photograph costs something” (June 15, 1898). Other photographs were likely commissioned from outside photographers, such as George Collins Cox, known at the time for his portraits of artists and other important personalities of the day, sculptor Auguste Saint-Gaudens, poet Walt Whitman as well as Tiffany’s parent’s Mr. & Mrs. Charles E. Tiffany. Cox’s name appears embossed on the mount of one of photographs along with that of Louis Tiffany. On the back of a few of these photographs, Tiffany Studios designers sketched out ideas and designs for future creations. Other images are commercial, some selected from books and magazines of the time and archived by the Studios. These range from flowers to famous sculptures and works of art and travel photographs of faraway places.