Tiffany at the Met: drawings return to the heart of the workshop
· BehindLines newsroom
A Tiffany window or lamp also begins with a sheet of paper. In New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced an exhibition of drawings from these workshops, scheduled to begin on October 22, 2026, and run until February 7, 2027. Its focus shifts attention to what comes before a decorative object: a design, experiments and a shared process of making.
Several artists behind one name
Specialist outlet HENI confirms the dates and the location at The Met Fifth Avenue. It explains that the display examines the design process behind stained glass, lamps, mosaics and interiors associated with Louis Comfort Tiffany. The named designers include Frederick Wilson, Jacob Holzer, Agnes Northrop, Clara Driscoll and Julia Munson.
That list offers another way of understanding the Tiffany signature. The announced exhibition goes beyond celebrating one individual: it puts collaborators back into the development of a shared visual language.
Records that outlast the objects
According to the museum, the exhibition brings together nearly 120 works from its collection, supplemented by loans. Some drawings record creations that have been lost or altered; others concern projects that never left the page. A sketch alone therefore does not establish that a decorative scheme was actually carried out.
The Met also plans to bring objects together with their preparatory drawings. Showing the two alongside one another allows a design proposal to be considered in relation to its execution, giving the drawing a role beyond that of a supporting accessory.
The IFPDA programme extends this approach with an online talk announced for October 27, led by curator Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, followed by a tour on October 29. These remain scheduled events. The exhibition calendar and these announcements do not provide a report of the public opening or a measure of visitor numbers.