mid-century lampshade with abstract pattern

large 2-tier lampshade:

• 15 inch diameter
• color: cream
• pattern: swirls in black
• lanyard: black

Among the most significant of American art movements, the mid-century American Abstract Expressionist (AAE) movement wreaked havoc in art, and its seismic influence extended to other spheres, as well. AAE was a major influence on post-war American mid-century architecture, graphic design, and home furnishing design, among other areas. In home furnishing design, the influence of AAE painting and sculpture was evident in furniture design, plastic laminates, upholstery and fabric patterns, and lamp and lampshade design.

The water-proof nature of fiberglass parchment made it ideally suitable for hand-painted designs. Taking a page out of Jackson Pollock and Franz Kline, mid-century fiberglass lampshades became a canvas for light-worthy action painting: drips, spatters, splatters, and webs all found their way onto drum and tiered lampshades and lamp bases. Unnamed (to us!) artisans applied the techniques of action painting to the horizontal blanks on their work tables, as each shade became an homage and tribute to the masters of the dominant art movement of the era.

vintage fabric lampshade

Medium 3-tiered retro lampshade, fabricated from virgin, vintage fabric from the 1950s or 1960s. The “new old-stock” laminate has been stained red on the main tier. and tangerine on the top and bottom tiers. This material is somewhat different from our regular fiberglass parchment. The material was part of a cache of vintage old-stock material we came across years ago; we don’t offer this material as part of our regular production pieces, but we fabricate with it upon request, or when a project comes our way which originally used the same material, but which is in need of restoration.