Candelabrum

1902

Jessie M. Preston (American, 1873–1962)
Chicago

As she did with so much of her metalwork, Chicago metalsmith Jessie M. Preston transformed this candelabrum into a dynamic, organic form. It represents one of Preston’s most successful and graceful Art Nouveau–influenced designs, taking inspiration from organic forms and fluid curves found in nature. Here, the center candle stem rests on a base adorned with flowing and swirling grasses, and it sprouts into four asymmetrical and curving branches that end in blooming morning glories.

Status: On View, Gallery 177
Department: Arts of the Americas

Artist: Jessie M. Preston
Title: Candelabrum
Place: Chicago (Object made in:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1902
Medium: Bronze
Inscriptions: Marked on the bottom in script "J Preston/ Chicago" with a conjoined "J" and "P"
Dimensions: 49.9 × 34.3 × 33 cm (19 5/8 × 13 1/2 × 13 in.)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Celia and David C. Hilliard
Reference Number: 2003.170

Carlieanne Kaufman Erickson, “A Craft of Their Own: Women and Metalworking in the American Crafts Movement in Boston and Chicago” (master’s thesis, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Smithsonian Institution; and Parsons The New School for Design, 2012), 43, fig. 3.36 (ill.).
Judith A. Barter, ed., Apostles of Beauty: Arts and Crafts from Britain to Chicago, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago, 2009), 162–3, 198, cat. 105, fig. 10 (ill.).

Art Institute of Chicago, Apostles of Beauty: Arts and Crafts from Britain to Chicago,/a>, Nov. 7, 2009–Jan. 31, 2010, cat. 105.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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