Table Lamp by Gerald Thurston
View Similar Items
Table Lamp by Gerald Thurston
About the Item
- Creator:Gerald Thurston (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 25 in (63.5 cm)Diameter: 17.5 in (44.45 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1955
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU98648658123
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.
- Italian Table LampLocated in Los Angeles, CABeautiful table lamp with adjustable shade, Italy, 1950s.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
$1,850 - Paavo Tynell Desk/Table LampBy Paavo TynellLocated in Los Angeles, CAAdjustable desk/table lamp, model no. 5305 by Paavo Tynell, 1950s. Brass and painted perforated metal. Manufactured by Taito, Finland. Underside impressed with TAITO/5305. Price redu...Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal, Brass
$3,196 Sale Price32% Off - Giso Piano Lamp by Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud, 1928Located in Los Angeles, CAWonderful and unique lamp manufactured by W. H. Gispen in Netherlands, 1928. Plated brass and plated nickel. The acrylic base is 11.5 inches square x 2.75 inches high.Category
Early 20th Century Dutch Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Floor Lamp by Alvar AaltoBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Los Angeles, CABeautiful Alvar Aalto standard floor lamp, model A809, Artek. Finland, 1959. Enameled steel, brass, and leather. Provenance: Private Collection Literature: Alvar Aalto: Designer, Lahti, pg. 107 Alvar & Aino Aalto...Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsBrass, Steel
$16,500 - Italian Floor Lamp by Angelo LelliBy Angelo LeliiLocated in Los Angeles, CABeautiful and rare floor lamp by Angelo Lelli, Model 12555 Occhio. Metal and brass with marble base. Italy, 1956.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Adjustable Italian Brass Table Lamp, 1970sLocated in Los Angeles, CABeautiful adjustable brass table lamp, Italy, 1970s. The height can be adjusted from 12 inches up to 24 inches.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Gerald Thurston Orange Table Lamp by LightolierBy Gerald ThurstonLocated in Redding, CTGerald Thurston orange table lamp by Lightolier. In amazing vintage condition. Gorgeous statement piece for your desk. Very rare, one of a kind. Lamp base is 6 inches in diameterCategory
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
$1,012 Sale Price57% Off - Walnut and Chrome Table Lamp by Gerald ThurstonBy Lightolier, Gerald ThurstonLocated in Denton, TXWalnut and chrome table lamp by Gerald Thurston for Lightolier.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsChrome
- Gerald Thurston for Stiffel Mid Century Teak Table LampBy Gerald Thurston, StiffelLocated in Countryside, ILGerald Thurston for Stiffel Mid Century Teak Table Lamp This piece measures: 6 wide x 6 deep x 28 inches high and weighs 4.7 pounds G...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- 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
- Gerald Thurston for Lightolier Ceramic Table Lamp, ca. 1950/ 1960'sBy Gerald Thurston, LightolierLocated in New York, NYChic and stylish ceramic and brass table lamp, attributed to Gerald Thurston for Lightolier. The lamp is in excellent, clean, and working condition, and comes complete with its origi...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- 1970's Gerald Thurston for Lightolier Black Lacquered Table / Desk LampBy Gerald Thurston, LightolierLocated in New York, NYGerald Thurston for lightolier basic concept table lamp with black lacquered steel base and lamp stem, white acrylic drum shade and plastic diffuser unde...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal