Triennale Floor Lamp by Gerald Thurston for Lightolier
View Similar Items
Triennale Floor Lamp by Gerald Thurston for Lightolier
About the Item
- Creator:Gerald Thurston (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 62.25 in (158.12 cm)Diameter: 8 in (20.32 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Newly rewired. Minimal vintage wear.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU7887766980
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.
- Minimalist Black Floor Lamp by ArtemideBy ArtemideLocated in New York, NYAton Terra floor lamp by E. Gismondi for Artemide. Italy, circa 1980. Signed with original label (see photo). Currently out of production. Features adju...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Minimalist Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal
$1,280 Sale Price46% Off - Sonneman Minimalist Chrome Floor LampBy Robert SonnemanLocated in New York, NYChrome tubular floor lamp by Sonneman. USA, circa 1970. On /off switch on stem; round base.Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsChrome
- Industrial Vintage Floor LampLocated in New York, NYIndustrial floor lamp with tripod base and adjustable shade and arm. USA, circa 1940. Features: *Bronze colored shade *Brushed steel metal arms and base *Adjustable shade and arm p...Category
Vintage 1940s American Industrial Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- 1970s Minimalist Polished Chrome Floor LampBy Robert SonnemanLocated in New York, NYA polished chrome floor lamp with thick round base and cylindrical stem, USA, circa 1970. Unsigned. Polished chrome floor lamp with round b...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsChrome
- White Gesso Floor Lamp with ShadeLocated in New York, NYArtisan custom made floor lamp with tripod base. Features mottled white gesso over metal frame. USA, circa 2015. Details: *Oval off white linen shade *Takes standard US bu...Category
2010s American Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Pair of Robert Sonneman Adjustable White Floor LampsBy Robert SonnemanLocated in New York, NYA pair of white metal and chrome floor lamps with adjustable shade and arm. USA, circa 1970. Made by Robert Sonneman. Priced as two (2) floor lamps. Dimensions: 54.5 inch height 9...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsChrome
- Modernist Triennale Floor Lamp by Gerald Thurston for LightolierBy Lightolier, Gerald ThurstonLocated in Buffalo, NYBeautiful and extremely well made three shade floor lamp designed by Gerald Thurston for Lightolier. Made of brass and black painted metal, each shade retains its original metal swir...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Gerald Thurston for Lightolier, Triennale Floor Lamp. 1960sBy Gerald ThurstonLocated in Clifton Springs, NYGerald Thurston Triennale Floor Lamp. This is a well known iconic design. Lamp, undergone a good deal of cleaning. Sockets were replaced with premium UL listed units. All lights wo...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsBrass, Steel
- 1950s Gerald Thurston Triennale Floor Lamp for Lightolier, USABy Gerald Thurston, LightolierLocated in London, GBGerald Thurston Triennale floor lamp for Lightolier. Original dusky pink enameled frame and base with brass detailing. In good vintage condition showing expected signs of wear comme...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Gerald Thurston for Lightolier Floor LampBy Lightolier, Gerald ThurstonLocated in Hanover, MAMid-1950's three light floor lamp produced by Lightolier and designed by Gerald Thurston. The style of the pierced polished brass tapered bowls appears to have been influenced by the...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsCopper, Brass
- Gerald Thurston Lightolier Floor LampBy Gerald Thurston, LightolierLocated in New York, NYClassic Mid Century floor lamp, designed by Gerald Thurston , manufactured by Lightolier, circa 1950/1960's. This example features a sculpted tri pod base of solid brass, solid walnu...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- 1950s Gerald Thurston Floor Lamp for LightolierBy Gerald ThurstonLocated in Esperance, NY1950s Gerald Thurston floor lamp for Lightolier.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal