Table Lamp by Gerald Thurston
View Similar Items
Table Lamp by Gerald Thurston
About the Item
- Creator:Lightolier (Manufacturer),Gerald Thurston (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 26 in (66.04 cm)Diameter: 17 in (43.18 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Circa 1950
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Walnut has been restored.
- Seller Location:Costa Mesa, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU92201151156
Gerald Thurston
As the leading designer at Lightolier during the postwar building and design boom, Gerald Thurston created his clever lighting — sleek floor lamps, table lamps and desk lamps — to suit the American lifestyles of 1950s and 1960s. His designs were at the forefront of the mid-century modern lighting revolution — like much of the visionary work being done at the time in furniture and interiors, Thurston’s fixtures are both elegant and totally innovative, reflecting the exploration of new ideas and new technology that consumed designers of the era.
Thurston eventually led a stellar team of international lighting designers at Lightolier. He was important to the pioneering East Coast–based electric lighting company, and rumor has it that because he sketched every design on craft paper, the manufacturer insured his right hand for one million American dollars.
While enrolled in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago during the 1930s, where he earned his degree in industrial design, Thurston worked as a freelance designer for the Zenith Radio Corporation. Once he graduated, he found a position at the New Metal Craft Company. There he designed custom lighting fixtures and decorative objects for architects and interior designers.
Lightolier enticed Thurston to join them in approximately 1950. That same year, New York’s Museum of Modern Art featured a green floor lamp of his in their Good Design Exhibition of 1950. The sculptural lamps that Thurston created for Lightolier are representative of his interest in Scandinavian modernist lighting as well as the revolutionary designs produced by postwar Italian companies such as Arredoluce and Arteluce. (Lightolier partnered with the latter, and Thurston found inspiration in the work of Arteluce founder Gino Sarfatti.)
During Thurston’s decades-long tenure with Lightolier, he became internationally known for his many designs. His modernist fixtures are characterized by clean lines, vibrant colors and an appealing meld of metals and rich woods. His slender-legged Lightolier Tripod floor lamp, introduced in the 1960s, garnered widespread acclaim, while his whimsical Cricket lamp, with its arthropodan shade and slim brass frame, is wholly versatile — it can be hung as a sconce or positioned on a desk and offers direct or diffused light.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Gerald Thurston lighting, decorative objects and more.
Lightolier
Founded in 1904 in New York and family-operated through most of its history, Lightolier was one of the pioneering American electric lighting companies, best known for its embrace of stylistic and technical innovations.
Collectors focus on vintage Lightolier lighting fixtures produced from the 1950s and into the 1970s, when an in-house design team led by Gerald Thurston — and a stellar cast of international design contributors — created an array of practical yet aesthetically lively table lamps, floor lamps, sconces and chandeliers.
Amidst the post-World War II building boom, Lightolier — the name combines “light” and “chandelier” — aggressively boosted its residential lighting division. Thurston, who was strongly influenced by the sleek designs of Gino Sarfatti and his Italian lighting firm Arteluce, towards simpler lamp designs that offered flexibility of function. His best-known designs include the Cricket task light — a lamp with an adjustable enameled metal hood that toggles on a slender bent-metal base — and the three-legged Tripod floor lamp. At the same time, Thurston had a wonderful eye for talent and sought work from some of the lesser-known greats of the era, such as Paavo Tynell, the Finnish lighting designer, who designed several brass chandeliers for Lightolier with his trademark elegant flamboyance.
And more, Thurston recognized abilities in designers not known for their work in lighting.
Edward Wormley, head of furniture design for Dunbar, produced several noteworthy chandeliers employing canisters and reflective hoods. Alvin Lustig was famed as a graphic designer. His ca. 1953 Ring ceiling fixture for Lightolier had a minimalist techno look some 30 years ahead of its time. But this was par. Designed by Michael Lax in 1964, the Lytegem high-intensity lamp — included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art — features a ball-shaped shade attached with a chromed armature to a cubic base, a form that would be widely copied in the following decade. Chandeliers designed in the early 1970s by Gaetano Sciolari, with details such as acrylic diffusers and vertical, two-bulb arms, would define the look of lighting in their day.
A look through these pages reveals just how astonishingly wide a range of lighting pieces Lightolier produced. The company never flicked off its stylistic switch.
Find a collection of vintage Lightolier lamps and other lighting fixtures on 1stDibs.
- Richard Barr Sculptural Table Lamp for the STUDIO Collection by Laurel, c.1965By Laurel Lamp Company, Harry Balmer, Richard BarrLocated in Costa Mesa, CARichard Barr Sculptural Table Lamp for the STUDIO Collection by Laurel, United States, c.1965. Beautiful torch cut and welded brutalist form. Measures: - 13" Deep - 14" Wide -...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBronze, Copper, Steel
- Raymor Ceramic Table Lamp, Italy, c.1960By RaymorLocated in Costa Mesa, CARaymor Italian Ceramic Table Lamp, Italy, c.1960. Signed " R 11119 Raymor Italy " to the bottom. Measures: 24.63" to the socket 18.5" to the top of the ceramic 6.13" diameter ...Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsCeramic
- David Cressey Monumental Ceramic Table Lamp, circa 1970By David CresseyLocated in Costa Mesa, CADavid Cressey Monumental Ceramic Table Lamp, circa 1970. Measures: 36 7/8" to the top of the socket 31" to the top of the ceramic 16" wide 9" deep ( The lamp shade i...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsCeramic, Stoneware
- Superstudio Early Gherpe Table Lamp, Francesconi, Italy, c.1967By SuperstudioLocated in Costa Mesa, CASuperstudio Early Gherpe Table Lamp, Francesconi, Italy, c.1967. Superstudio Designers: Gian Piero Frassinelli, Alessandro Magris, Roberto Magris...Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Bob Kinzie Large Scale "O Series" Ceramic Table Lamps, circa 1965By Bob Kinzie, Affiliated CraftsmenLocated in Costa Mesa, CABob Kinzie for Affiliated Craftsmen large scale "O Series" ceramic table lamps, circa 1965. Measures: 15.13" diameter 29.75" To the top of the socket. 23.13" To the top of the...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Stuart Barnes Brass Table Lamps for Robert Long, circa 1970By Stuart Barnes, Robert LongLocated in Costa Mesa, CAStuart Barnes brass table lamps for Robert Long, circa 1970. This pair was handcrafted at the Robert Long studio in Sausalito, California. Each lamp measures: 5" Diameter 1...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Mid Century Table Lamp by Gerald ThurstonBy Gerald Thurston, LightolierLocated in New York, NYMid century Hourglass lamp by Gerald Thurston for Lightolier with Lucite base, ceramic body and brass fittings. New 3 way brass socket and w...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Mid-Century Modern Table Lamp by Gerald ThurstonBy Gerald Thurston, LightolierLocated in New York, NYStylish architectural table lamp designed by Gerald Thurston. The lamp has a white ribbed conical base with a brass decorative ball shaft. The lamp accepts three standard size screw ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Gerald Thurston Cricket LampBy Lightolier, Gerald ThurstonLocated in Brooklyn, NYOriginal "Cricket" table lamp, designed by Gerald Thurston for Lightolier. Enameled white shade, articulates from angular brass base. A versatile lamp that may be hung on the wall as...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsSteel
- Walnut and Chrome Table Lamp by Gerald ThurstonBy Gerald Thurston, LightolierLocated in Denton, TXWalnut and chrome table lamp by Gerald Thurston for Lightolier.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsChrome
- Porcelain Hourglass Table Lamps by Gerald Thurston, 1950sBy Lightolier, Gerald ThurstonLocated in Westport, CTStunning pair of vintage table lamps that exude sophistication and style - a true collector's item for those who appreciate mid-century modern design. These lamps were designed by th...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Gerald Thurston Ribbed Ceramic Table LampsBy Lightolier, Gerald ThurstonLocated in Brooklyn, NYPair of ceramic table lamps, designed by Gerald Thurston for Lightolier. Executed in a minimal black and white, this fresh design has a ribbed motif that adds texture to these large ...Category
Late 20th Century American Post-Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsCeramic
$2,800 / set