The drawings encompassed the work of the studio during the height of the Gilded Age. While most did not survive, The Met holds nearly 400 Tiffany design drawings in its collection. The majority of the drawings were purchased by the Museum in 1967 despite significant damage from water, mold, dirt, and acidic papers.
Watch as Paper Conservator Marina Ruiz Molina works in collaboration with Curator Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen on a complex treatment to save a magnificent watercolor drawing for a conservatory recently identified as for a villa in Havana, Cuba, that over time, suffered significant damage.
Featured Object:
Louis C. Tiffany (American, New York 1848–1933 New York). Designed by Tiffany Studios (1902–32). Design for Conservatory, Josefina de Mesa Residence, Havana, Cuba, ca. 1915-16. Transparent and opaque watercolor, and graphite on paper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Purchase, Walter Hoving and Julia T. Weld Gifts and Dodge Fund, 1967(67.654.115)
Archival Images Courtesy of:
Designing Room, Tiffany Studios, 1913. Character and Individuality in Decorations and Furnishings (New York, Tiffany Studios, 1913).
"Pembroke Mansion, Front Exterior". From the book North Shore Long Island: Country Houses, 1890-1950 by Paul J. Mateyunas (Acanthus Press, New York, 2007). Public Domain.
Aeolian Company Photographic Collection, Organ Historical Society Library and Archives, Villanova, Pennsylvania.
The Art Institute of Chicago / Art Resource, NY
Herbert & Eileen Bernard Museum of Judaica, Temple Emanu-El, New York
Josefina de Mesa House in Havana, Cuba, Exterior Facade. Arquitectura Revista Mensual Vol. 1 No. 1 Julio 1917. Public Domain.
