Tiffany Lamps: Beyond the Shade is an exhibition illuminating the volume and breadth of Louis C. Tiffany’s vast artistic production. From the 1890s to the 1920s, Tiffany Studios created a captivating range of decorative lighting fixtures that embraced the technological shift from oil lamps to electricity and simultaneously met the styles and tastes of nineteenth and twentieth century consumers. Drawn from the expansive collections of the Museum and the private art collection of Richard H. Driehaus (now the Art Exhibition Lending Foundation), the exhibition explores how the artisans at Tiffany Studios used a range of materials— including bronze, enamel, ceramic, and glass—to bring Tiffany’s innovative lighting designs to life. Organized by guest curator Alexandra M. Ruggiero, Tiffany Lamps: Beyond the Shade will be on view at the Driehaus Museum, 50 E. Erie Street from September 12, 2025 to March 15, 2026.
Executive Director of the Driehaus Museum Lisa M. Key says, “Many Chicagoans and tourists have seen Tiffany lamps in passing but have not had a chance to encounter them in depth or within a richly contextualized narrative. This is a chance to draw people back to the Driehaus Museum by inviting them to see familiar works in new ways. It is an opportunity for the Museum to highlight a core strength and position as a national leader in the complex storytelling of the Gilded Age and the interpretation of design and decorative arts from this time period. In this case, the exhibition will explore a broader context—from materials, to design considerations and the business of Tiffany Studios —to reframe the traditional narrative of Tiffany lamps."
Building on past exhibitions such as Eternal Light: The Sacred Stained-Glass Windows of Louis Comfort Tiffany (2019-2020) and Louis Comfort Tiffany: Treasures from the Driehaus Collection (2015), Tiffany: Beyond the Shade expands the narrative of Tiffany lamps beyond their iconic glass shades.
Guest curator Alexandra Ruggiero says, “I am thrilled to partner with Driehaus Museum and present the extraordinary range of Louis C. Tiffany’s lighting fixtures with a new perspective. The exhibition features objects that exemplify Tiffany’s remarkable ability to marry innovation and outstanding design, enabling museum visitors a chance to marvel at the materiality and incredible artistry of Tiffany lamps.
In addition to presenting a range of lamp types and designs, the exhibition will include a selection of decorative objects produced by Tiffany Studios, such as Favrile glass and ceramic vases, enamel and bronze boxes, and a leaded-glass fire screen. The exhibition also includes noteworthy works never before exhibited at the Driehaus Museum, including a table lamp with an enameled base and a monumental bronze and Favrile glass chandelier. Within the setting of the Driehaus Museum, the exhibition contextualizes the significant output of Tiffany Studios and provides visitors with a look at the innovation, design, materiality, and business of Tiffany lamps.
Tiffany Lamps: Beyond the Shade deepens the natural partnership between the Driehaus Museum and the Richard H. Driehaus Art Exhibition Lending Foundation. By bringing together works from the Museum’s permanent collection and the private collection, the Museum can offer a broader, richer, and more nuanced presentation of Tiffany’s legacy—one that exemplifies Richard Driehaus’ belief in the power of beauty to inspire. This support deepens the Museum’s role as a cultural steward of the Richard H. Driehaus collection and extends its ability to tell new stories through exceptional design.
Lead support for this exhibition is provided by Sallie and Allan Bulley, The Driehaus Trust Company, LLC., and Northern Trust.
Major support is provided by the Make It Better Foundation.
Generous support is provided by Susan and Henry Johnson and by Laura Mandel and Richard Blessen.
ABOUT THE CURATOR
Alexandra M. Ruggiero is a decorative arts curator specializing in glass and a Consulting Curator at The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass in New York. Ruggiero enjoyed a decade of curatorial experience at The Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG), where she worked on projects and research that spanned the history of glass. From 2019 to 2022, she was Curator of Modern Glass with responsibility for acquisitions, exhibitions, cataloging, and research of the CMoG’s glass collections from 1825–1945. In 2023, she was the Interim Department Head, Curator of Collections & Exhibitions at The Rockwell Museum—A Smithsonian Affiliate in Corning, NY. Ruggiero earned a master’s in the History of Decorative Arts through the Corcoran College of Art + Design and Smithsonian Associates in Washington, D.C. and a bachelor’s degree in Art History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a member of the Association of Art Museum Curators.