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Object Timeline

-0001	We photographed this object.
1933	Work on this object began.
1943	Work on this object ended.
2009	We acquired this object.
2017	We photographed this object. We exhibited this object.
2024	You found it!

Floor Lamp (USA)

This is a floor lamp. It was designed by Walter von Nessen and manufactured by Nessen Studios, Inc.. It is dated designed 1928; this example made ca. 1938 and we acquired it in 2009. Its medium is chrome-plated metal. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

Walter von Nessen virtually pioneered the field of residential lighting. Born and trained in furniture design in Germany during the 1920s, von Nessen immigrated to the United States in 1925 and opened Nessen Studios in New York City in 1927. His practice was almost exclusively devoted to the design and fabrication of architectural lighting. He quickly created a name for himself, attracting the attention of leading architects with his sleek industrial designs. Von Nessen began to receive commissions to design lighting and other household items for top clients and was among the first wave of American industrial designers.
This chrome floor lamp is a prime example of the ingenuity, functionalism, and modern materials that characterized his work. Von Nessen accented the top of the lamp with three concentric conical forms, which act as uplights. The forms are an ingenious way to diffuse, control, and direct light. The lamp’s reeded stem extends down from the center of the inverted cones to a stepped circular foot resting on four conical feet, which add a touch of visual symmetry.
The lamp was part of the original furnishings for a bar room with black lacquered walls at Duke Farms, the New Jersey home of heiress and philanthropist, Doris Duke. The uplighting would have produced a dramatic effect against the black background.
This lamp, a fine example of streamlined design, will be the first example of von Nessen’s lighting design in the museum’s collection.

It is credited Gift of Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Vase (USA)
favrile glass.
Museum purchase through gift of Georgiana L. McClellan.
1956-66-1

Cheese Knife
chromium-plated brass.
Gift of George R. Kravis II.
2015-5-10

Table Lamp
turned aluminum, brass, molded bakelite.
Gift of George R. Kravis II.
2016-5-14

Our curators have highlighted 5 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

An electric metal floor lamp with circular standing base and telescoping stem with joint tops wrapped in decorative zig-zag-cut cuffs extending to the top. Two repeated zig-zag design motifs form the base of the torch-style lamp segment including feather-like blown glass petals curled in a semi open position, held in place by pointed vertical metal pickets. The photograph captures the floor lamp in a front view against a light gray background.

Floor Lamp
H x W (with glass leaves): 176.1 x 33 cm (5 ft. 9 5/16 in. x 13 in.) H x W....
Gift of Elizabeth Arden.
1971-25-3-a/e

Dramatic, dark red leather chair with brass and aluminum accents. The chair has a curved back, similar to a barrel style chair, but with open, decorative, swirled brass arms. The cushioned seat is flat, with a rounded back, and is supported on a brass-ringed platform with round accents underneath each arm. The legs of the chair are covered on three sides with a smooth aluminum curtain, which is red on the inside and appears white on the outside. The chair's diagonal positioning highlights the cut-outs along the bottom of each side of the aluminum curtain, with stepped contours recalling skyscrapers. Angled, square footings accent the bottom of each leg.

Chair, 1928
aluminum, brass, leather.
Private Collection.
79.2016.1

Drawings of an inverted white triangle wall mounted sconce with blue stripes with a metal tip and top. On the left shows it in side view as if mounted on the wall, while on the right is a frontal view.

Object ID #890290267
gouache on paper.
Smithsonian Libraries, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Library.
43.2016.9

Its dimensions are

H: 173.4 cm (5 ft. 8 1/4 in.)

Cite this object as

Floor Lamp (USA); Designed by Walter von Nessen (American, 1889 - 1943); Manufactured by Nessen Studios, Inc. (United States); chrome-plated metal; H: 173.4 cm (5 ft. 8 1/4 in.); Gift of Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; 2009-17-1

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s.

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/2E1S6/
Accession Number 2009-17-1
Object ID 18733657