Twain, Tiffany and Other Treasures: Highlights from the Collection of The Mark Twain House & Museum

The rich collection of The Mark Twain House & Museum is featured in the second floor gallery of the Museum Center when Twain, Tiffany and Other Treasures: Highlights from the Collection.

The exhibition showcases some of the most important pieces in the museums collection, many of which have never before been on public display.

"Over the years, the museum has accumulated more than 16,000 artifacts of historical significance through gifts and acquisitions," said Debra Petke, deputy director, Beatrice Fox Auerbach Chief Curator and curator of the exhibition. "These include many pieces that belonged to Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) or his family, as well as items made by important artists and artisans, such as Louis Comfort Tiffany, who were patronized by Twain."

The exhibition has a particular focus on period decorative and fine arts objects and displays more than 100 objects arranged in four thematic sections, the largest of which is devoted to the work of Louis Comfort Tiffany, son of Charles Lewis Tiffany, the founder of the famed Tiffany & Co. jewelry store. Louis Tiffany, who later became known for his stained glass lamps and windows, founded an innovative interior design firm known as Associated Artists. In 1881, Sam and Livy Clemens engaged the firm to redecorate the main floor and other areas of their Hartford home.

The principals of Associated Artists, all of whom worked on the Clemens project, included Louis Tiffany, Candace Thurber Wheeler, Lockwood de Forest and Samuel Colman. The museums collection of objects related to Tiffany and Associated Artists includes lamps, vases, glasses, windows, and furniture designed by Tiffany; textiles and paintings by Wheeler; and wood and brass carvings and paintings by de Forest.

Other sections of the exhibition are:

Clemens Family in Hartford: features personal items, furnishings, and decorative pieces that belonged to the family but are not on display in the house, including jewelry owned by Livy, Tiffany silver, the family picnic basket, and boxes carved by daughter Jean.

Sam Clemens/Mark Twain: This section explores Sam Clemens, the person, and Mark Twain, the author and the persona, through personal items that belonged to Clemens, and objects that represent the "Mark Twain" image and legacy. Some items tell personal stories about the Hartford years while other artifacts will demonstrate Twains vast cultural influence, such as movie posters for film adaptations of his works; games and puzzles inspired by his books and characters; and advertisements that use Twains iconic image.

Victoriana: The final section of the exhibition showcases various pieces of Victoriana from the museums collection. On display is furniture, decorative arts that are illustrative of the lifestyle of families of their class during the "Gilded Age" when the Clemens family lived in Hartford.

Twain, Tiffany and Other Treasures: Highlights from the Collection is made possible with the generous support of Aetna and the Aetna Foundation.

We are also grateful for support from The Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation.

Additional support has been provided by Connecticut LIFE, print media sponsor, the Connecticut Arts Endowment Fund, and the J. Walton Bissell Foundation, Inc.

Exhibitions are made possible, in part, by the Greater Hartford Arts Council and the Connecticut Humanities Council.

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