CHICAGO, IL.- The Driehaus Museum announces Tiffany Lamps: Beyond the Shade, an exhibition illuminating the volume and breadth of Louis C. Tiffany’s vast artistic production. From the 1890s throughthe 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 the 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 Foundation holdings, 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.