Martin Eidelberg
Encyclopedia
Martin Eidelberg is a prominent American
professor emeritus of art history
at Rutgers University
and expert on art pottery
and Tiffany glass
. He is notable for discovering that many famous floral lamp designs were not made by Louis Comfort Tiffany
personally but by an underpaid and unrecognized woman designer named Clara Driscoll.
s. Eidelberg was quoted in 2007 in The New York Times
as saying "I think Tiffany would have died" if information had leaked out that Driscoll was the real designer of the famous lamps.
Eidelberg's discovery led to an exhibition at the New-York Historical Society
which garnered intense media attention. The evidence pointed to the conclusion that Driscoll was the "hidden creative force behind a legendary object in the history of American decorative arts: the Tiffany lamp."
The letters offered a new inside view of the workings of the studios, according to one account. Driscoll had been paid only $35 a week which was "good money" at the turn of the century but small compared to the value of the lamps today. The Driscoll letters revealed the "inner workings of Tiffany Studios" and exposed more about the practice of gender segregation at the Tiffany firm. Relations between the unionized
men and the women were "not always friendly." Women had to leave if they married. And company literature refused to acknowledge designers other than Tiffany himself played a role in the artistic glasswork. Eidelberg's detective work led to a well-publicized exhibit called A New Light on Tiffany which revealed "a new understanding of the techniques and procedures used to produce the extraordinary objects that made Tiffany such an exalted name in American design." There was a report that the story about Clara Driscoll and her "Tiffany Girls" was being made into a film. Later, there was a traveling exhibition shown in towns including Allentown, Pennsylvania
in autumn 2007.
Eidelberg has had a long career in art history prior to the Tiffany discovery. He taught thirty-eight years at Rutgers. In 1987, Eidelberg wrote what one reviewer called a "handsome, graphically arresting catalogue" entitled From Our Native Clay which traces the history of the art-pottery movement. In 1989, he curated a show on George E. Ohr
, a "wizard at the potter's wheel who made witty, frequently erotic paper-thin vessels in Biloxi
, Miss.
." He studied Antoine Watteau
and eighteenth-century French painting. He has also written about artisans such as William H. Grueby
, Artus van Briggle
, Adelaide Alsop Robineau
, S. Bing
, and Edward Colonna. In 2009, Eidelberg was Professor Emeritus of Art History at Rutgers University.
In 2010 he co-curated the exhibition "Die Jugend der Moderne-Jugendstil und Art Nouveau aus Muenchner Privatbesitz" in the Museum Villa Stuck in Munich, Germany
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professor emeritus of art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
and expert on art pottery
Ceramic art
In art history, ceramics and ceramic art mean art objects such as figures, tiles, and tableware made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery. Some ceramic products are regarded as fine art, while others are regarded as decorative, industrial or applied art objects, or as...
and Tiffany glass
Tiffany glass
Tiffany glass refers to the many and varied types of glass developed and produced from 1878 to 1933 at the Tiffany Studios, by Louis Comfort Tiffany....
. He is notable for discovering that many famous floral lamp designs were not made by Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
personally but by an underpaid and unrecognized woman designer named Clara Driscoll.
Discovery
Eidelberg found a "cache of letters that Driscoll had written to her mother and sisters back in Ohio" in either 2006 or 2007; it led to new research about the famous Tiffany lampTiffany lamp
A Tiffany lamp is a type of lamp with many different types of glass shade. The most famous was the stained leaded glass lamp. Tiffany lamps are considered part of the Art Nouveau movement.- History :...
s. Eidelberg was quoted in 2007 in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as saying "I think Tiffany would have died" if information had leaked out that Driscoll was the real designer of the famous lamps.
Eidelberg's discovery led to an exhibition at the New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library located in New York City at the corner of 77th Street and Central Park West in Manhattan. Founded in 1804 as New York's first museum, the New-York Historical Society presents exhibitions, public programs and research that...
which garnered intense media attention. The evidence pointed to the conclusion that Driscoll was the "hidden creative force behind a legendary object in the history of American decorative arts: the Tiffany lamp."
The letters offered a new inside view of the workings of the studios, according to one account. Driscoll had been paid only $35 a week which was "good money" at the turn of the century but small compared to the value of the lamps today. The Driscoll letters revealed the "inner workings of Tiffany Studios" and exposed more about the practice of gender segregation at the Tiffany firm. Relations between the unionized
Craft unionism
Craft unionism refers to organizing a union in a manner that seeks to unify workers in a particular industry along the lines of the particular craft or trade that they work in by class or skill level...
men and the women were "not always friendly." Women had to leave if they married. And company literature refused to acknowledge designers other than Tiffany himself played a role in the artistic glasswork. Eidelberg's detective work led to a well-publicized exhibit called A New Light on Tiffany which revealed "a new understanding of the techniques and procedures used to produce the extraordinary objects that made Tiffany such an exalted name in American design." There was a report that the story about Clara Driscoll and her "Tiffany Girls" was being made into a film. Later, there was a traveling exhibition shown in towns including Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...
in autumn 2007.
Eidelberg has had a long career in art history prior to the Tiffany discovery. He taught thirty-eight years at Rutgers. In 1987, Eidelberg wrote what one reviewer called a "handsome, graphically arresting catalogue" entitled From Our Native Clay which traces the history of the art-pottery movement. In 1989, he curated a show on George E. Ohr
George E. Ohr
George Edgar Ohr was an American ceramic artist and the self-proclaimed "Mad Potter of Biloxi." In recognition of his innovative experimentation with modern clay forms from 1880–1910, some...
, a "wizard at the potter's wheel who made witty, frequently erotic paper-thin vessels in Biloxi
Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the population as 44,054. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County....
, Miss.
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
." He studied Antoine Watteau
Antoine Watteau
Jean-Antoine Watteau was a French painter whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour and movement...
and eighteenth-century French painting. He has also written about artisans such as William H. Grueby
Grueby Faience Company
The Grueby Faience Company, founded in 1894, was an American ceramics company that produced distinctive vases and tiles during America's Arts and Crafts Movement....
, Artus van Briggle
Van Briggle Pottery
Established in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1901 by Artus and Anne Van Briggle, the Van Briggle Art Pottery is the oldest continuously operating art pottery in the United States. Artus Van Briggle had a significant impact on the Art Nouveau movement in the United States, and his pottery is...
, Adelaide Alsop Robineau
Adelaide Alsop Robineau
Adelaïde Alsop Robineau was an American painter, potter and ceramist.As a young woman Adelaïde became interested in the popular pursuit of china painting. She married Samuel E. Robineau of France in 1899, and in that year the couple launched Keramic Studio, a pioneering periodical for ceramic...
, S. Bing
Samuel Bing
Siegfried Bing , often referenced erroneously as "Samuel Bing", was a German art dealer who lived in Paris as an adult, and who helped introduce Japanese art and artworks to the West and was a factor in the development of the Art Nouveau style during the late nineteenth century.-Biography:Bing was...
, and Edward Colonna. In 2009, Eidelberg was Professor Emeritus of Art History at Rutgers University.
In 2010 he co-curated the exhibition "Die Jugend der Moderne-Jugendstil und Art Nouveau aus Muenchner Privatbesitz" in the Museum Villa Stuck in Munich, Germany
Publications (author or co-author)
- The Arts and Crafts Movement in America, 1876-1916
- Masterworks of Louis Comfort Tiffany (1989)
- Behind the Scenes of Tiffany Glassmaking (2001)
- The Lamps of Louis C. Tiffany (2005)
- A New light on Tiffany, Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls (2007)
- Tiffany Favrile Glass and the Quest of Beauty (2007)
- Beauty in Common Things, American Arts and Crafts Pottery from the Two Red Roses Foundation