Lamp

ca. 1927

Not on view

Creator of the interiors of Radio City Music Hall, Deskey is a towering figure in modern design. His lamp is a response to the upward thrust of the New York skyline. Its boxy proportions echo a tall, narrow building, while, on the two side panels, rectilinear puzzlelike patterns similarly evoke compressed architectural forms. The use of frosted glass in different textures activates the lamp’s surface, even as it diffuses the emitted light. The lamp’s compactness attests to Deskey’s awareness that he was typically designing for small domestic interiors.

Artwork Details

Title: Lamp
Designer: Donald Deskey (American, Blue Earth, Minnesota 1894–1989 Vero Beach, Florida)
Maker: Deskey-Vollmer, Inc.
Date: ca. 1927
Medium: Glass, chrome-plated brass and painted wood
Dimensions: 11 × 8 3/4 × 5 1/2 in., 5.9 lb. (27.9 × 22.2 × 14 cm, 2.7 kg)
Classification: Lighting
Credit Line: Purchase, Theodore R. Gamble Jr. Gift, in honor of his mother, Mrs. Theodore Robert Gamble, 1982
Object Number: 1982.33
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

By Donald Deskey

In the same medium

From the same time and place

Nesting Tables, Donald Deskey American, Aluminum and formica — Nesting Tables
Designer Donald Deskey
ca. 1927

Gray and Brass, John Sloan American, Oil on canvas, American — Gray and Brass
John Sloan
1907

Desk Lamp, Gilbert Rohde American, Chrome-plated steel, brass — Desk Lamp
Designer Gilbert Rohde
Manufacturer Mutual-Sunset Lamp Manufacturing Company, Inc., Brooklyn, NY
1933

Armchair, Donald Deskey American, Steel, rayon — Armchair
Designer Donald Deskey
Manufacturer Ypsilanti Reed Furniture Company
ca. 1929

Necklace, Meta Overbeck American, Gold, emeralds, Montana sapphires, topazes, enamel, American — Necklace
Meta Overbeck
Louis C. Tiffany
Manufacturer Tiffany & Co.
ca. 1914–15

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