Dragonflies of Glass

Summary

From award-winning kids’ nonfiction author Susan Goldman Rubin, and radiantly illustrated by Susanna
Chapman, the picture book Dragonflies of Glass celebrates the innovation, determination, and ambition of the
brilliant woman artist behind the world-famous Tiffany glass
In the mid-nineteenth century, most women who weren’t raising families became teachers or nurses. But Clara
Driscoll longed to be an artist, drawing inspiration from nature: from every flower, weed, dragonfly, and even
cobweb, on her family’s farm.
In 1888, Clara was hired at the renowned Tiffany Glass Company, where Mr. Louis Comfort Tiffany was known
for creating gorgeous stained-glass windows for churches, theaters, and libraries. Impressed by her talent at
choosing and cutting glass, Mr. Tiffany eventually put Clara in charge of her own staff of 35 women designers.
These “Tiffany Girls” sketched intricate patterns, chose dazzling colors and precise shapes, and carefully
soldered and placed each piece of glass to create stunning lamps, murals, windows, vases, and clocks. Yet
their names weren’t always credited on the finished pieces, and when Clara designed the “Wisteria” lamp that
would become Tiffany Studios’ most famous, everyone assumed that Mr. Tiffany had designed it.
Today, Clara Driscoll‘s work lives on in museums, galleries, and private collections around the world. Dragonflies
of Glass celebrates the innovation, determination, and ambition of the unsung women behind many of Tiffany
Studios’ masterpieces.
Includes a list of places where Driscoll’s Tiffany art can be found; examples of Driscoll’s Tiffany lamps and
archival photographs; endnotes; and a bibliography.