Louis Comfort Tiffany—son of Charles Lewis Tiffany, who founded the jewelry store Tiffany and Co.—began his artistic career as a painter. As a young man he headed an interior design firm, and then went on to found Tiffany Studios, where skilled artists and artisans created works under his direction. He revolutionized the stained-glass industry with his manufacture of opalescent glass. With this development, color became part of the medium rather than painted on it, and the glass took on stunning three-dimensionality. Tiffany (American, 1848–1933) and the designers at Tiffany Studios incorporated landscapes, exquisite floral patterns, and other natural forms into windows and lamps that married usefulness with beauty. These functional works of art are as desirable today as when they were designed over 100 years ago. Tiffany is one of the most influential designers of the past two centuries.
