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Lot Essay
This spectacular example of the Tiffany Studios "Magnolia" lamp stands as one of the crowning achievements of the firm's production. Depicting the majestic flowering magnolia tree, this model was a monumental enterprise - in both size, complexity of design, and cost, being one of the most expensive objects available from Tiffany Studios during its active years. With its rich use of drapery glass, mottled light and vivid coloration, the magnolia lamp evokes the grandness of our natural world in a poetically ephemeral manner.
This lamp was given to Herbert George Wylie (1867-1956) in 1920 and has remained in his family by descent since. Wylie originally arrived in America from Dublin in 1887 with $22, moved to California and rapidly established himself as a highly successful entrepreneur in the oil industry. He was in charge of several ventures during his career, including the Mexican Petroleum Company, the Caloric Company (Petroleum distribution in Brazil), the Pan Am Petroleum and Transport Company, and the British Mexican Petroleum Company.
In 1920, upon his marriage to Amelia Crane Brown, Wylie was given this lamp as a wedding gift from "his old men in Mexico", a group of colleagues with whom he had worked in the oil industry for many years. Wylie eventually maintained homes and offices in both California and New York and became extremely active philanthropically, providing the funding for a new chapel at Hollywood Presbyterian Church and supporting the Occidental College in Eagle Rock, California.
This lamp was given to Herbert George Wylie (1867-1956) in 1920 and has remained in his family by descent since. Wylie originally arrived in America from Dublin in 1887 with $22, moved to California and rapidly established himself as a highly successful entrepreneur in the oil industry. He was in charge of several ventures during his career, including the Mexican Petroleum Company, the Caloric Company (Petroleum distribution in Brazil), the Pan Am Petroleum and Transport Company, and the British Mexican Petroleum Company.
In 1920, upon his marriage to Amelia Crane Brown, Wylie was given this lamp as a wedding gift from "his old men in Mexico", a group of colleagues with whom he had worked in the oil industry for many years. Wylie eventually maintained homes and offices in both California and New York and became extremely active philanthropically, providing the funding for a new chapel at Hollywood Presbyterian Church and supporting the Occidental College in Eagle Rock, California.