Posted by Rudy Veraar
on December 29, 2025
Clara Driscoll (born Clara Pierce Wolcott on December 15, 1861) was the driving force behind the most iconic creations of Tiffany Studios. She received a formal artistic education and was employed by Tiffany Studios on three separate occasions, from 1888 to 1909. Her leadership and creativity transformed the lamp department.
The Origins of the Women's Department
In 1892, Driscoll was appointed as the supervisor of the Women's Glass Cutting Department. This department was established partly as a strategic business response to a threatened strike by the all-male glasscutters' union. Tiffany's management believed that women, with their keener sense of color and dexterity, were better suited for the intricate floral compositions. The department grew rapidly from six to 35 female employees in 1894, and by 1897 counted between 40 and 50 young women.
Leadership and Iconic Designs
Driscoll and her team, the "Tiffany Girls," were vital to the profitable Fancy Goods Department. They were responsible for the glass selection, cutting, modeling, and designing of leaded glass lampshades and smaller objets d’art, such as bronze inkwells and desktop accessories. Driscoll's designs include over thirty lamps, including the iconic Dragonfly (which won a bronze medal at the 1900 Paris World's Fair) and the Wisteria lamp.
In 1903, male unions threatened to strike if the women continued to make windows, which underscored the influence and productivity of the women's department. Unlike other purely artistic departments such as ceramics (which she called 'Little Arcadia'), her leadership in the commercial department required her to consider production costs at every step.
Recognition and Legacy
Driscoll's salary of $10,000 per year around 1904 positioned her as one of the highest-paid women of that era. The discovery of her personal correspondence and the subsequent 2007 exhibition "A New Light on Tiffany" brought about a fundamental shift in art history, finally attributing the authorship of many iconic designs to Driscoll and the "Tiffany Girls." Driscoll left Tiffany Studios in 1909 and passed away in 1944.
Read more:
Discover the crucial role of Driscoll's assistant in our Article about Alice Carmen Gouvy, or read more about the [techniques they perfected](/blogs/ambacht-materialen/innovatieve-productietechnieken-tiffany-studios).
