Rare Pair of Gerald Thurston, Lightolier Table Lamps, Painted Wood Shapes
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Rare Pair of Gerald Thurston, Lightolier Table Lamps, Painted Wood Shapes
About the Item
- Creator:Gerald Thurston (Designer),Lightolier (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 5 in (12.7 cm)Depth: 5 in (12.7 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- 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.
- Seller Location:Buffalo, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1062420395472
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.
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- Iconic and Rare Pair of Cubic Gaetano Sciolari Table Lamps , Italy, 1970By Gaetano SciolariLocated in Buffalo, NYIconic and rare Pair of Cubic Gaetano Sciolari table lamps , Italy, 1970,,,Wonderful original condition,,40 years in the business ,,have never come across the table version of this l...Category
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- 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
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- Seldom seen Laurel Lighting Wishbone Floor Lamp, Gerald ThurstonBy Gerald Thurston, Laurel Lamp CompanyLocated in Buffalo, NYClassic 1950's Wishbone floor lamp for Laurel Lighting Company. Nice original condition, solid piece of walnut tapers up from bottom. Lamp shade NOT included,, ( NOT ORIGINAL) .Thre...Category
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$1,600 Sale Price20% Off - Gerald Thurston "Cricket" Lamp for LightolierBy Gerald Thurston, LightolierLocated 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
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- Pair of Gerald Thurston for Lightolier Brass and Metal Table LampsBy Gerald Thurston, LightolierLocated in Brooklyn, NYPair of tables lamps designed by Gerald Thurston for Lightolier composed of oversized, fully-adjustable, black-metal shades and corresponding round bases with brass stems (ca. 1950s,...Category
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- Gerald Thurston for Lightolier White Cricket Lamps - PairBy Gerald Thurston, LightolierLocated in Brooklyn, NYPair of matched "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 ...Category
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- Two Gerald Thurston Table Lamps for Lightolier, 1960sBy Gerald Thurston, LightolierLocated in Den Haag, NLTwo beautiful table lamps. Designed by Gerald Thurston for Lightolier USA, 1960s. Grey ceramic lamp bases with a metallic finish on oak feet. Triple armatures which can be switched on and off individually using the draw cord...Category
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$1,050 Sale Price / set20% Off