LACMA

Did you take a walk today? Maybe you walked to or from school or went to a friend's house. What did you see along the way? Were there flowers and trees? How about birds or insects? Many artists like Louis Comfort Tiffany include elements of nature like birds and flowers in their works of art. Tiffany was an artist who lived in New York from 1848 to 1933. He made home furnishings like lamps and vases and incorporated images of nature into his designs.

Take a close look at this lamp. Tiffany designed it after a type of plant that he liked known as a pond lily. Pond lilies are flowers that grow in water. Their blooms sit on circular green leaves called lily pads that float on the surface of the water; the roots grow in the ground below. Pond lilies bloom in many colors including pink, yellow, and white. Can you see the pond lilies on the lampshade? What part of the lamp do the lily pads form?

You can design furnishings for your home that reflect the flowers and plants you see in your neighborhood. What type of object will you design? On a piece of paper, design an object such as a lamp, a vase, or a table, and put the things you like best about your neighborhood in its design.

You can see this lamp in the American art galleries on the third floor of the Art of the Americas Building at LACMA.

Search Collections Online to see more designs by Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Tiffany Studios (United States 1889–1902)
Louis Comfort Tiffany (United States, 1848–1933)
"Pond Lily" Table Lamp, Model No. 344, 1900–1910
Leaded glass, bronze, 27 5/16 x 18 in. (69.37 x 45.72 cm)
Gift of Mr. David Geffen (M.85.128a-b)
Photo credit: © 2008 Museum Associates/LACMA