The Met’s Tiffany Exhibition Starts With the Drawing, Not the Famous Name
NEWJIN MEDIA / CULTURE & LIFE OCTOBER 19, 2026 THE MET · AN EXHIBITION PREVIEW Before the glass, there was a drawing. The Met’s Tiffany show opens October 22. A guide to reading design drawings, recognizing collaborators and separating plans from finished glass. Squash Window with Pebbles, 1885–90. Glass, beach-worn quartz and lead came; accession 2015.707. Collection context, not an exhibition installation. Image: Louis C. Tiffany / The Metropolitan Museum of Art · CC0 Paper THE PROPOSAL Glass THE MATERIAL People THE STUDIO A stained-glass window invites a quick response: look at the light. A drawing asks for a different kind of attention. Where does the composition begin? Which line describes an object, and which might become a joint? What was decided on paper, and what could only be decided by someone handling glass? The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s forthcoming Tiffany exhibition offers a timely reason to ask those questions before looking for the familiar signature. Designing...