Gerald Thurston Table Lamps, Porcelain, Brass, Brown, White, Honeycomb
View Similar Items
Gerald Thurston Table Lamps, Porcelain, Brass, Brown, White, Honeycomb
About the Item
- Creator:Lightolier (Retailer),Gerald Thurston (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Diameter: 8.5 in (21.59 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1956
- Condition:Rewired. Wear consistent with age and use. Minor scratching to the brass bases. Minute specs of glaze loss at top of one lamp body - see photo 9. Base measures: 1 inch H x 8 inches W.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU95694769893
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.
- Bitossi Lamp, Ceramic, Metallic Silver Chrome, Textured HoneycombBy BitossiLocated in New York, NYBitossi lamp, ceramic, metallic silver chrome and textured honeycomb. Chunky gourd shaped table lamp with metallic platinum glazed shoulders and neck and terracotta with honeycomb bo...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsCeramic, Terracotta
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Hansen Table Lamp, White Marble, BrassBy Hansen Lighting Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in New York, NYT.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Hansen table lamp, white marble and brass. Small to medium scale table lamp in white and gray Carrara marble with brass two light cluster. The marble base measures 12 inches x 3.38 inches on each of the 4 sides. Photo 8 is from a 1950's Hansen...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMarble, Brass
- Raymor Table Lamp, Ceramic, Brown, Pinecone, SignedBy RaymorLocated in New York, NYRaymor ceramic table lamp, brown pinecone, signed. Medium scale tapered lamp with pinecone relief decoration. Signed on the underside of base: RM, Italy. ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsCeramic
- Bitossi Lamp, Ceramic, Brown, White, Blue Speckled, SignedBy BitossiLocated in New York, NYBitossi table lamp, ceramic, brown, white, blue speckles, signed. Large scale table lamp with a raw brown clay body decorated with a pattern of impressed glazed ovals in Robin egg bl...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsCeramic
- Design Technics Lamp, Pottery, White, Dimpled, Brass, SignedBy Design TechnicsLocated in New York, NYDesign Technics lamp, pottery, white, dimpled, brass, signed. A hand-thrown stoneware table lamp glazed in white and decorated with a dimpled pattern. Retains original brass fittings...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsPottery, Ceramic
- Hegnetslund Table Lamps, Ceramic, White, Textured Relief, SignedBy HegnetslundLocated in New York, NYHegnetslund table lamps, ceramic, white, textured relief, signed. Pair of large ceramic table lamps glazed in white and decorated with a textured relief. Both the undersides are sign...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsCeramic
- Vintage Gerald Thurston Porcelain Table Lamps for LightolierBy Gerald Thurston, LightolierLocated in Chicago, ILGerald Thurston porcelain table lamps for Lightolier.Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsPorcelain
- 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
- Porcelain Table Lamp by Gerald Thurston for Lightolier, 1950sBy Lightolier, Gerald ThurstonLocated in Westport, CTSpeckled porcelain and brass table lamp designed by Gerald Thurston for Lightiolier, circa 1950-1959. Completely rewired, newly white linen shade included. Other designers of the ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Gerald Thurston for Lightolier Black & Brass Table LampBy Tommi Parzinger, Lightolier, Gerald ThurstonLocated in Bainbridge, NYSleek American midcentury Gerald Thurston for Lightolier black enameled table lamp with brass details. Featuring a slender all black enameled metal hourglass stem, elevated above a round 7.5D Black enameled balanced base supported by a weighted Cast Iron underside. With lacquered Brass accents throughout. Original triple Ceramic sockets and finial. 23H to top of socket. Black Mesh Lamp...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsIron, Brass, Metal
- Gerald Thurston Porcelain LampsBy Gerald ThurstonLocated in New York, NYMid-Century Classic ivory glazed porcelain lamps with speckled horizontal stripes resting on matte finished bases with an aged brass band. Lamps have been rewired for use in the USA ...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
$4,500 / set - 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