The Ayer Mansion

Last Tuesday, we had the honor to celebrate the music from the time of Louis Comfort Tiffany. It was a beautiful evening full of musical expressions by Jonathan Miller, Cello and Marc Ryser, Pianist. We appreciate all those who attended and we thank you for your support of Boston's Tiffany Treasure - The Ayer Mansion.

Ayer Mansion Facade Restoration Wins 2014 Preservation Award!

The Campaign for the Ayer Mansion and Bayridge Residence & Cultural Center are proud to announce that the Ayer Mansion Facade Restoration Phase I has been recognized by the Massachusetts Historical Commission with a 2014 Preservation Award.

The Massachusetts Historical Commission noted that the painstaking restoration of the mosaics on the upper portion of the building and the re-creation of the missing panels on the balcony “demonstrates a strong commitment to historic preservation that goes well beyond what is normally expected.”

Many thanks to our superb preservation team and all our supporters who made this project possible.

A very nice piece about the Campaign for the Ayer Mansion!

Tiffany’s last stand: The Ayer Mansion gets a makeover - The Boston Globe Only a small group of preservationists gathered on the sidewalk to watch conservators in a cherry picker gingerly pluck priceless mosaics from the balcony of a historic Commonwealth Avenue mansion. They understood the significance of what they were seeing. Finally, one of the most historically impor...

The 2013 Jonathan L. Fairbanks Lecture Series continues this Fall.
Please join us to hear Jeanne Pelletier, Preservation Advisor, the Campaign for the Ayer Mansion, on September 17th, 2013 at the Ayer Mansion.
Jeanne Pelletier will explore Tiffany’s work as decorator, architect, and interior designer in residential commissions long since gone, and the sole surviving example, the Ayer Mansion.
Wine and cheese will be served at 6:30, with the program beginning at 7 pm. Tickets ($25) may be purchased by mail (make checks payable to The Campaign for the Ayer Mansion and mail to The Campaign for the Ayer Mansion, Inc., 395 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215) or online at www.AyerMansion.org.
http://ayermansion.org/Donate.html

Tonight, June 18, Richard Guy Wilson, Commonwealth Professor of Architectural History at the University of Virginia, will take us on an armchair tour of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s own summer home, Laurelton Hall and explore its stained glass in detail.
Wine and Cheese at 6:30pm followed by the lecture at 7pm. Don't miss it! Tickets can be purchased at the door!

Richard Guy Wilson | University of Virginia: School of Architecture Richard Guy Wilson holds the Commonwealth Professor's Chair in Architectural History at the University of Virginia (Thomas Jefferson's University) in Charlottesville, Virginia. His specialty is the architecture, design and art of the 18th to the 21st century both in America and abroad. He was a visi...

photos by Ken Emly

When nature—Louis Comfort Tiffany’s eternal muse—proved less than perfect, he “did nature one better,” says Morse Museum Director Laurence J. Ruggiero in Marni Jameson’s latest syndicated home design column. Nowhere did the artist and designer make nature more perfect than at his Long Island estate, Laurelton Hall. Tiffany’s works, Jameson writes, “have frozen nature at her perfect peak.” Check out what Jameson has to say about the enduring style lessons to be learned from Laurelton Hall.

http://www.mercurynews.com/home-garden/ci_23338594/marni-jameson-inspiration-from-tiffany-home

Beautiful! From Chihuly Garden and Glass

Easter-themed windows proved to be big business for the Tiffany Studios!

Easter-themed windows proved to be big business for the Tiffany Studios. Resurrection scenes and angels of the resurrection -- like the one seen here from St. James Church in Baton Rouge -- were among the most popular subjects. (Photo: Tiffany Studios | Angel of the Resurrection, memorial window for Eleanor Garig Connell and Elvira Dougherty Garig, dedicated Easter Sunday, 1910 | Leaded Glass | St. James Episcopal Church, Baton Rouge, LA)

Tiffany Studios | Design attributed to Agnes Northrop | Grapevine and Lemon Tree with Trellis window, ca. 1905

Designer Agnes Northrop (1857-1953) was among the first women to join the Tiffany Studios and her remarkable career spanned five decades. Northrop is responsible for Tiffany's celebrated floral and landscape windows and, early on, she established herself as a leading designer in the traditionally male-dominated field of stained glass. Her position was one of unusual privilege: she had a private studio and received international recognition for her window designs, including a silver medal at the 1900 Paris Exposition. Today, Northrop’s windows depicting verdant landscapes and profusions of lush foliage continue to be admired and celebrated.

(Tiffany Studios | Design attributed to Agnes Northrop | Grapevine and Lemon Tree with Trellis window, ca. 1905 | Leaded glass | 75 x 31 in. | The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass)

Detail of one of the two stone and glass columns flanking the front entrance of the Ayer Mansion. Each column, cut from a single piece of stone, contains more than 3,000 pieces of hand-cut and set glass with gold foil backing.

The Ayer Mansion in Boston abounds with inspired decorative details. This column inset with satiny gold luster glass greets visitors at the entrance. A tour de force of Tiffany decoration, the mansion is a must-see.

Lindsy Parrott, Director and Curator of the Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass in New York City will explore how Tiffany lamps were designed, created, and marketed to a wide audience at the Ayer Mansion today. Wine and Cheese at 6:30pm followed by the lecture at 7pm.

History of Decorative Arts | Faculty and Staff: Lindsy Parrott Lindsy R. Parrott is Director/Curator at the Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass in New York. She has an M.A. in the History of Decorative Arts and Design from Parsons School of Design/Cooper-Hewitt Program and earned her B.A. in Art History from the University of Central Florida.