Gerald Thurston for Lightolier, 1950s, Porcelain Lamps
View Similar Items
Gerald Thurston for Lightolier, 1950s, Porcelain Lamps
About the Item
- Creator:Gerald Thurston (Designer),Lightolier (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 33.75 in (85.73 cm)Diameter: 11 in (27.94 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Materials and Techniques:Ceramic,Cast
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1955
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. minor marks and handling marks.
- Seller Location:Palm Springs, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU83508540133
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.
- Gerald Thurston for Lightolier "Cricket" LampBy Gerald ThurstonLocated in Palm Springs, CAAn iconic design by Gerald Thurston for lightolier, the "cricket" lamp has three light brightness settings and is in working order. The ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Lightolier Atomic Sputnik Ball Table LampBy LightolierLocated in Palm Springs, CAA great table lamp with its original globe shades out of a nice Palm Springs Estate. This 1970’s Lightolier fixture still has a few of its labels. I only had one bulb to light it up...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Italian Bisque Porcelain LampsLocated in Palm Springs, CAAn exceptional pair of bisque porcelain lamps in a shell or fan shape. Mounted on black bases they are in working order. These lamps came out of ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Table Lamps
MaterialsPorcelain
$7,500 / set - Stewart Ross James for Hansen Verdigris Bronze LampBy Hansen, Stewart Ross JamesLocated in Palm Springs, CALovely bronze patinated lamp designed by Stewart Ross James for Hansen. I’m working condition with an older rewire and a double cluster t...Category
Vintage 1960s American Table Lamps
MaterialsBronze
- Pierre Casenove for Fondica France Gilt Metal Table LampBy Pierre Casenove, FondicaLocated in Palm Springs, CAA beautiful gilt metal table lamp designed by the noted Ceramicist and Sculptor Pierre Casenove for Fondica of France. Comes with a lovely clip on shade. Lamps dates from the late 19...Category
Early 2000s French Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- L. Boye Gilt Metal and Enamel Lamp for Fondica France 2004By Fondica, BoyéLocated in Palm Springs, CAA stunning enamel and gilt metal lamp by Boye for Fondica of France. Signed and dated 2004. The enamel work is quite beautiful and vibrant. The lamp looks as if its leaning a bit fro...Category
Early 2000s French Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal, Enamel
- Porcelain Table Lamp by Gerald Thurston for Lightolier, 1950sBy Gerald Thurston, LightolierLocated 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
- 1950s Gerald Thurston Table Lamp, Lightolier, USABy Lightolier, Gerald ThurstonLocated in St- Leonard, QuebecElegant table lamp made of walnut, brass with plastic shade. By Gerald Thurston for Lightolier. Marked.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
$1,600 Sale Price20% Off - Vintage Gerald Thurston Porcelain Table Lamps for LightolierBy Lightolier, Gerald ThurstonLocated in Chicago, ILGerald Thurston porcelain table lamps for Lightolier.Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsPorcelain
- Gerald Thurston for Lightolier "Studio Porcelains" Dark Gray Table Lamp, 1950'sBy Lightolier, Gerald ThurstonLocated in Bainbridge, NYSubstantial Gerald Thurston for Lightolier Charcoal Gray "Studio Porcelains" Pleated Table Lamp. Featuring a large fluted Gun Metal Porcelain body, Brass stem, original White enameled triple sockets on beveled Brass base. Original pleated tapered...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Gerald Thurston "Cricket" Lamp for LightolierBy Lightolier, Gerald ThurstonLocated in Brooklyn, NYGreat modernist design, can sit on table or be hung on the wall as a sconce. Pierced pivoting shade allows for direct or diffused light and brightness control.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsEnamel
- Midcentury Tri Pod Table Lamp by Gerald Thurston for Lightolier C 1950sBy Gerald Thurston, LightolierLocated in New York, NYClassic midcentury table lamp designed by Gerald Thurston, made by Lightolier, circa 1950s. The lamp has a three leg, tripod form base of black rods, which support interior diffusers...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal