David Cressey Pro Artisan 'Flame' Glaze Ceramic, 1960s

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.

David Cressey, a multi-disciplinary artist who had a six-decade career, created pottery and ceramics that revolutionized indoor/outdoor planters with their architectural style. Implementing artistic functionality into his pieces, Cressey designed in modern and mid-century modern styles. He created many planters, vases and table lamps, which remain highly desirable to collectors.

Cressey was the first artist in residence at Architectural Pottery in Los Angeles in 1961, helping to transform its urban and residential work. This was highly influential in the architecture and design worlds as the company mass-produced and sold sculptural, functional pieces.

Cressey also opened a design studio in Venice Beach, California, collaborating with Group Artec and Earthgender Ceramics. When Architectural Pottery closed in the mid-1980s due to a fire, Cressey continued to produce art, this time in the medium of mixed media on wood.

Cressey artwork evokes a similar physical and sensory experience as his vessels, lanterns and folk art ceramics. Evocatively Californian, his paintings evolved from his clay-based practice with a masterful use of color, saturation and texture. His fine art training included studying at the University of Southern California under Vivika Heino and at the University of California, Los Angeles, with Laura Andreson. 

In 2006, he received the California Design Award. Museums that have exhibited his work include the Pasadena Art Museum in 1967, the Everson Museum of Art in 1961, the Oakland Museum of California in 1961 and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2011.

On 1stDibs, find a rare collection of David Cressey building and garden elements, decorative objects, lighting and more.