Tiffany Lamps Pink Saturday

 

The Snowball Hanging Shade in the Gallery of Tiffany Lamps at the New York Historical Society

 

 

From the moment I walked into the newly renovated and completely beautiful Gallery of Tiffany Lamps on Thursday, the words Pink Saturday came into my mind. It is one of the loveliest museum collections I've seen in a long time and I wanted to share it with Buttercupland. 

 

Daffodils, one of my favorite flowers and one of my favorite lamps on display

 

The gallery exhibit features 100 lamps from the museum's collection. My photographs don't do justice to the setting and display of the magnificent pieces that are featured, but the gallery is the perfect setting for these works of art and light. 

 

  

Before I saw this exhibit my assumption was that Louis Comfort Tiffany was not only the genius of Tiffany Studios at the turn of the century, but the designer of the lamps produced there. The exhibit gives credit to the designer of much of the leaded glass shades in the lamp collection to Clara Driscoll, who was head of the Glass Cutting Department from 1892-1909. In 1909 Clara Driscoll was married and stepped down from her job, as married women at that time didn't work outside their homes.  

 

The iconic Wisteria Lamp

 

One of the most iconic pieces in the collection is the wisteria design. Its beauty is not just in the colors of the leaded glass shade, but in the design of the bronze base. They are perfectly matched and the result is, as Keats wrote, "a joy forever." Thank you, Clara Driscoll.

 

Autumn is sneaking into New York. I know that just a few days ago I wrote that I still wasn't wearing socks, but as of today that is no longer true. Today was a day for socks and a jacket. Can corduroy pants be far behind. One of my errands of the afternoon was shoe shopping and I actually tried on wooly boots. Yes, I will bow to the inevitable, but until the cold days get here, I'm going to embrace the autumn sun.

 

As ever, thanks for visiting and wishes for a good week ahead. Happy autumn!



A Walk in the (Central) Park: the Legacy of Olmstead and Vaux



Autumn in New York

I think one of the archetypal scenes of New York is Central Park in the autumn. Immortalized in movies, it's earned a place high on the list of places to visit during a trip to New York. Its 843 acres are set in the middle of Manhattan and form a serene center to the activity around it. Central Park was the first landscaped public park in the United States, authorized in 1853. It was designed by landscape designer, Frederick Law Olmstead and architect, Calvert Vaux.

There are summer Philharmonic concerts, Shakespeare performances and miles of jogging paths to enjoy. On a sunny afternoon -- these pictures were taken in November -- it is a beautiful place to enjoy what endless expanses of grass and trees, even in the biggest city in America.
 

Central Park is bordered on the east by Fifth Avenue and on the west by Central Park West, where I took these pictures. A fascinating added stop while you're visiting Central Park is the New York Historical Society, at Seventy-Seventh Street and Central Park West. It's one of my favorite museums, with a great restaurant and fun gift shop. I've enjoyed watching a featured movie on the history of New York, seeing the permanent collection, as well as the varied exhibitions. This poster advertises last fall's exhibition on the Battle of Brooklyn.  

If anyone notices I'm combining "O" for Olmstead and "P" for Park into one post for today's  A to Z Blogging Challenge. It's not quite the letter of the Challenge, but it is the spirit. I had trouble downloading some of the photographs I intended to use for "O," but I hope to do my original O post at a later time.

As ever, thanks for visiting and take good care!
 

Happy Birthday, Madeline

One of my all-time favorite friends is celebrating her Seventy-fifth birthday and I couldn't miss the party.

So I zipped over to the New-York Historical Society to wish Madeline a very happy birthday. I was happy to find that she is looking better than ever.

And as, Cole Porter would say, "What a swell party this is." I loved seeing my buddy Madeline again, her dog, Genevieve, her friends at the "old house in Paris," and Miss Clavel, who cared for them all. Alas, no photographs were permitted and I had to content myself with the picture above and two others from the gift shop. 

I read a lot as a child and Madeline was one of my all-time favorite book friends. I developed an affection for Paris early on, which I thought came solely from seeing the movie, "Gigi" in fourth or fifth grade. But after seeing the exhibit yesterday I think reading about Madeline had something to do with creating a very young Francophile, too. Not surprisingly, I had a great affection for Babar, as well.

The museum has a beautiful gift shop and I had to be restrained from buying lots of Madeline items. 

 These sweet Madeline dolls were at the top of my list. I had a tough time resisting Genevieve in her own carrying bag, too.

 What little girl wouldn't love a pair of Madeline pajamas!

The show goes on until October 19 and if you are anywhere close, it's well worth a trip. The museum itself is well worth a visit. I especially enjoyed a film about the history of New York City, with the most beautiful photography.

I'm wending through my list of errands. I got my hair cut and colored this morning and spent most of the afternoon clearing out email. My inbox is like a garden. If I don't keep up, the weeds have choked the flowers. I didn't keep up during vacation and there were a lot of weeds. 

As always, thanks for visiting and take good care!