Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Tiffany in Louis C. Tiffany's Studio 1888 - 1892

George Collins Cox made this photograph of Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Tiffany inside Louis C. Tiffany's studio. The photograph offers an intimate look into the world of the late 19th century American elite. Charles Tiffany was the founder of the luxury jewelry and design firm, Tiffany & Co., and his son Louis Comfort Tiffany was a celebrated artist and designer in his own right. The image creates meaning through visual codes that signaled wealth and refinement. The studio setting, with its artistic arrangements of flowers and glass, speaks to the Tiffanys' sophisticated tastes and cultural capital. Made in the United States, this photograph reflects the economic structures of the Gilded Age, where industrialization created immense wealth for a select few. Further understanding can be sought through the archives of Tiffany & Co., biographies of the Tiffany family, and studies of the decorative arts movement in America. The meaning of this photograph is contingent on understanding the social and institutional context in which it was made and displayed.