Ornament & Identity: From Tiffany Studios to Tattoo Studios (SOLD OUT)

Thursday, March 5, 2026

More than a century after Tiffany Studios revolutionized the decorative arts with innovative designs and groundbreaking techniques, Tiffany lamps remain enduring icons of style and pop culture, appearing everywhere from fashion runways to tattoo parlors. In this conversation, renowned tattoo artist Beth Mintzer and Elizabeth McGoey, the Ann S. and Samuel M. Mencoff Curator, Arts of the Americas at the Art Institute of Chicago will explore the legacy of Tiffany lamps.

Beth Mintzer draws inspiration from Tiffany lamps in her tattoo work, while Elizabeth McGoey brings deep expertise in American decorative art and design. Together, they’ll weave museum scholarship with lived studio experience to trace the evolution of Tiffany lamps from iconic home décor to contemporary artistic influence.

About the Speakers

Beth Mintzer is a Los Angeles–based fine-line illustrative tattoo artist with lifelong roots in drawing, painting, and ceramics. Inspired early by her grandmother’s stained-glass work, she later earned a BFA in Film Production (sound design) with a Studio Art minor from Chapman University in 2019. After brief work in film, Beth found her path in LA’s women-owned private tattoo studios, where the artwork resonated with her style. Drawn to antiques and home objects, she developed a signature focus on lamp designs and has spent five years tattooing: guesting in multiple cities, working private events, and now residing at Angel Kisses studio. She has tattooed over a hundred lamps, drawing ongoing inspiration from Tiffany lamps discovered while antiquing, on Etsy, and in museum exhibits.

Elizabeth McGoey is the Ann S. and Samuel M. Mencoff Curator, Arts of the Americas at the Art Institute of Chicago. A member of the museum’s curatorial team since 2012, she focuses on American decorative arts and design. Liz’s projects include Photography + Folk Art: Looking for America in the 1930s (2019), Reflections: David Drake’s Storage Jar (2022) and Landscape in Light: The Tiffany Window at the Art Institute (ongoing). Liz also edited and co-authored Silver in the Art Institute of Chicago (2017) and Perspectives on Place (2023). Before coming to the Art Institute, Liz was a fellow at the New York Public Library, the Smithsonian American Art Museum Renwick Gallery, and the Winterthur Institute at Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library. She completed her BA in art history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her MA and PhD at Indiana University-Bloomington.