Pair of Gerald Thurston for Lightolier Lamps, Mid-20th Century
View Similar Items
Pair of Gerald Thurston for Lightolier Lamps, Mid-20th Century
About the Item
- Creator:Lightolier (Manufacturer),Gerald Thurston (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 24 in (60.96 cm)Diameter: 8 in (20.32 cm)Length: 24 in (60.96 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:20th Century
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: A531 lamps mid century lamps Gerald Thurston Lightolier1stDibs: LU82751123560
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.
- 20th Century Black Metal Table LampLocated in Valladolid, ESTable lamp in black metal from the 20th Century, circa 1980. Probably an Italian design. In a very good condition for use and age. Table lamp in black metal from the 20th Century, circa 1980. Probably an Italian design. In a very good condition for use and age. This is a black metal table lamp...Category
Vintage 1980s Spanish Arts and Crafts Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
$446 Sale Price52% Off - 20th Century Bronze / Brass Industrial Flameproof Ceiling Light / Desk LampBy Industrial DesignLocated in Leicester, LeicestershireA reclaimed solid bronze table lamp by Morio Denki a Japanese manufacturer of Industrial grade fixtures & fittings. These lights were originally wall light...Category
Antique 19th Century Japanese Industrial Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass, Bronze
$563 Sale Price / item20% Off - 20th Century Bronze / Brass Industrial Flame Proof Ceiling Light / Desk LampBy Industrial DesignLocated in Leicester, LeicestershireSolid bronze desk lamp with braided cable and dimmer switch. Comes with vintage Edison filament lamp E27. Made in the 1980s by Kokosha - Osaka, Japan. ...Category
Antique 19th Century Japanese Industrial Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass, Bronze
- Early 20th Century Bronze Knight Sculpture Electrified Table or Desk LampLocated in Frankfurt am Main, DEA solid bronze parcel brass knight sculpture candelabra later converted to electrified table lamp with large frosted glass torch flame shade. It takes on Edison E27 light bulb. Tot...Category
Early 20th Century Portuguese Baroque Table Lamps
MaterialsBronze, Brass
- Early 20th Century Brass Art Deco Table or Desk Lamp with a Great PatinaLocated in Lisse, NLPractical size Art Deco desk lamp with a wonderful look and feel. There is something about table lamps from the past that you just don't find in modern lamps. If you don't have the right eye than this particular 1920s desk lamp...Category
Early 20th Century European Arts and Crafts Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of Bookends Balls, 20th CenturyLocated in Saint-Ouen, FR"Pair of bookends balls, 20th century" Pair of Bookends forming two marble balls on a stand, 20th Century decorative object.Category
20th Century European Modern Paperweights
MaterialsMarble
$394 / set