Pair of White Mid-Century Modern Gerald Thurston Table Lamps
View Similar Items
Pair of White Mid-Century Modern Gerald Thurston Table Lamps
About the Item
- Creator:Lightolier (Maker),Gerald Thurston (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 43 in (109.22 cm)Diameter: 7 in (17.78 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s-1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Very good condition, clean and in good working condition, no shades included.
- Seller Location:Haddonfield, NJ
- Reference Number:Seller: 338721stDibs: LU943420318152
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.
- Pair of Mid-Century Modern Lucite and Bronze Table LampsLocated in Haddonfield, NJThick Lucite and gilded bronze table lamps, 20th century, America.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBronze
$1,500 Sale Price33% Off - Pair Of Mid-Century Modern Brass And Wood Table LampsLocated in Haddonfield, NJPair of Mid-Century Modern brass and wood table lamps.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
$699 Sale Price / set57% Off - Pair of Mid-Century White Opaline Gold Decorated Table LampsLocated in Haddonfield, NJOpaline Glass Gilt Gold Decorated Table Lamps, A Pair Illuminate your home with these Opaline Glass with gold-banded and striped Mid Century Modern Table Lamps. These exquisite lamp...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsGold Leaf
- Mid-Century Modern Pair of Wooden Danish Table Lamps, circa 1960'sLocated in Haddonfield, NJPair of Danish Mid-Century Modern table lamps. The sculpted wooden bases hold these lamps in an artful and graceful way. The shades are ivory with navy banding and are new. The lamps...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsTeak
$665 Sale Price / set46% Off - Italian Mid-Century Modern White Murano Art Glass Table LampLocated in Haddonfield, NJItalian Mid-Century Modern white Murano art glass table lamp on a round thick Lucite base. Lamp has been newly rewired and has a Lucite fi...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsLucite, Art Glass
$780 Sale Price20% Off - Pair of Early Mid-Century Modern Black Toleware Chrome LampsLocated in Haddonfield, NJEarly Mid-Century Modern pair of black toleware chrome table lamps This exciting pair of Mid-Century Modern Toleware lamps has outstanding chrome and patina accents. The hourglass...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsChrome, Metal
$1,225 Sale Price / set30% Off
- Selection of Mid-Century Modern Brass Table LampsBy Hansen Lighting Co.Located in Atlanta, GASelection of Mid-Century Modern brass table lamps, American, circa 1950s. We believe these were created by the Hansen Company. They are price at $750 each. The price noted includes t...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Pair Italian Mid-Century Modern "Ice Cube" Glass Table Lamps, VeniniBy VeniniLocated in New York, NYItalian works of glass art and sculpture. Extraordinary pair of Italian Mid-Century Modern Murano / Venetian glass table lamps attributed to Venini. Each is composed of 25 hand blo...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsGlass, Murano Glass
$5,700 Sale Price / set21% Off - Mid Century Modern Dice Form Table LampLocated in Rochester, NYMid 20th century modern table lamp with original factory enamel painted metal dice form base. Measures 24" high to top of finial / dice base is just about 5...Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Unusual Mid-Century Modern Brass and Lacquer Table Lamp, HeifetzBy HeifetzLocated in Buffalo, NYUnusual Mid-Century Modern brass and lacquer table lamp attributed to Heifetz. Organic flower form, black and white lacquered wood petals surrounded by brass, retains original finial...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Turned Walnut or Teak Mid-Century Modern Table Lamp, c.1970sLocated in Rockaway, NJTurned walnut or teak Mid-Century Modern table lamp, c.1970s.Category
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsWalnut
- Rare Mid-Century Modern Table Lamp, Nubian Man Hitting Gong, Moss Lamp CoBy Moss Lamp Co. 1Located in Buffalo, NYStunning depiction of strong Nubian figure striking gong, bronzed clad plaster figure, retains original mallet as well as original lampshade, both in need of some repair ,wood and co...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass, Copper
