Collecting Inspiration: Edward C. Moore at Tiffany & Co

Medill H. Harvey, Metropolitan Museum of Art

This ADAF Lecture will be broadcast on Zoom, click here to register for the online event.

14th Annual Michael Weller Memorial Lecture

Magnolia Vase

Magnolia Vase. Tiffany & Co., 1893. Silver, enamel, gold, opals, 30 7⁄8 x 19 1⁄2 in. (78.4 x 49.5 cm) marked: TIFFANY & Co/11168 MAKERS 3137/STERLING SILVER/T/[Tiffany globe mark for the World’s Columbian Exposition] (on underside) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Mrs. Winthrop Atwill, 1899 (99.2)

Tea Set (Tête-à-Tête). Tiffany & Co., 1886

Tea Set (Tête-à-Tête). Tiffany & Co., 1886. Silver, silver gilt, enamel, ivory, Teapot: 4 3⁄4 x 10 7⁄8 x 5 3⁄16 in. (12.1 x 27.6 x 13.2 cm); creamer: 2 7⁄8 x 5 3⁄8 x 3 1⁄8 in. (7.3 x 13.7 x 7.9 cm); sugar bowl: 3 5⁄8 x 7 1⁄2 x 3 3⁄4 in. (9.2 x 19.1 x 9.5 cm); sugar tongs: 5⁄8 x 5 in. (1.6 x 12.7 cm) marked: TIFFANY & Co/8473 M8148/STERLING-SILVER (on underside of teapot); TIFFANY & Co /8473 M8147/STERLING-SILVER (on undersides of creamer and sugar bowl) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of a Friend of the Museum, 1897 (97.1.1–.4)

Tiffany & Co., New York, Exposition Universelle, Paris

Tiffany & Co., New York, Exposition Universelle, Paris, 1889. Wallach Division Picture Collection, The New York Public Library

Selection of objects from the Edward C. Moore Collection

Selection of objects from the Edward C. Moore Collection. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891 (91.1.2155, .572, .173, .488, .1199, .510, .1220, .1600, .116, .2094, .1204, .1230, and .490)

Edward C. Moore—a silversmith, designer, and prodigious collector—led Tiffany & Co. to unrivaled success during the late nineteenth century. Moore used exceptional objects from around the world as inspiration for Tiffany’s innovative silver designs. Collecting Inspiration: Edward C. Moore at Tiffany & Co. presents the never-before-told story of Moore, focusing on his life, collection, and lasting influence on artistic production and The Met.

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Cranbrook: Unity in Architecture, Education, and Art

Kevin Adkisson, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research

This ADAF Lecture will be broadcast on Zoom, click here to register for the online event.

Triton Pools

Triton Pools. Bronze tritons and fishes by Swedish sculptor Carl Milles lead toward the Cranbrook Academy of Art Library and Museum, completed in 1942. Photography by James Haefner, Courtesy Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research.

Cranbrook Art Museum and Library

Cranbrook Art Museum and Library. Stairs lead past a Chinese lion from the Wei Dynestry (386-557) at Cranbrook Academy of Art Library and Museum, completed in 1942 by architect Eliel Saarinen. Photography by James Haefner, Courtesy Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research.

Saarinen House

Textiles, furniture, lighting, and architecture are a unified whole at Saarinen House, designed in collaboration between Eliel Saarinen, Loja Saarinen, and the craftsmen and women of Cranbrook Arts and Crafts Studios between 1928 and 1930. Photography by James Haefner, Courtesy Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research.

Kingswood School for Girls Auditorium

Auditorium of Kingswood School for Girls (now Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School), with ceiling designed by Eero Saarinen and curtain by Pipsan Saarinen Swanson. Completed in 1931. Photography by James Haefner, Courtesy Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research.

Cranbrook School for Boys Dining Hall

Dining Hall entrance to Cranbrook School for Boys (now Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School), designed by Eliel Saarinen and completed in 1928. Photography by James Haefner, Courtesy Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research.

Between 1918 and 1942, Cranbrook’s founders, philanthropists and newspaper publishers George and Ellen Booth, transformed their personal estate into a center of learning. Establishing an elementary school, preparatory schools for girls and boys, a graduate Academy of Art, art museum, science institute, and Episcopal church, the Booth’s vision was expansive. Inspired by the English Arts and Crafts Movement, Cranbrook’s buildings and grounds demonstrate a quality of craftsmanship and materials unrivaled in America.

To realize the Cranbrook project, architect Eliel Saarinen and designer Loja Saarinen, along with their children, Pipsan and Eero, collaborated to create a campus that is a total work of art. The Saarinens designed everything: buildings and fountains, textiles and furniture, silverware and graphics, and many of the family’s designs were executed in workshops on Cranbrook’s campus.

Curator Kevin Adkisson works on preservation, interpretation, and programming across the many buildings and treasures of Cranbrook. Since arriving as a Collections Fellow in 2016, Kevin has welcomed thousands of guests to Cranbrook’s National Historic Landmark campus, both in person and virtually. Through tours, lectures, and online programming, Kevin makes history come alive with a friendly, humorous nature, and deep passion for art and architecture.

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Upcoming Programs

Competition drawing by Cranbrook architecture students Ralph Rapson and John Van der Meulen
Cranbrook: Legacy of a Utopian Academy of ArtKevin Adkisson, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research
TuesdayMay 16
Looking Forward and Back: Diverging Aesthetics in American Art PotteryAdrienne Spinozzi, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Peacock Room
Journeys in Blue and Gold: A Century of Interpreting Whistler’s Peacock RoomDiana Greenwold, National Gallery of Art
Desk and Bookcase, George Bright, Boston
Open for Business: A Tour of 18th C Cabinet Shops in London, Boston, and PhiladelphiaBrock Jobe, Winterthur Museum
SaturdayOct 21
Redressing Hidden Histories: An Anthology of American FashionAmelia Peck, Metropolitan Museum of Art
SaturdayOct 21
Modernity Meets Antiquity: The San Francisco Bay Area Interiors of Frances ElkinsScott Powell, Independent Author