Unit #50, Elliptical Prelude and Chalice, from the First Table Model Clavilux (Luminar) series Artist: Thomas Wilfred (American, 1889–1968)

1928

American Paintings and Sculpture

By appointment, Wurtele Study Center

Unit #50, Elliptical Prelude and Chalice functions simply as a piece of furniture until its owner flips a switch to activate the work’s mechanism. Inside the box, a bulb transmits light through two rotating discs, hand-painted by Wilfred in brilliant colors and abstract patterns. Light rays then travel through a set of dimpled, reflective cones—one placed on the underside of the table, the other inside the body of the lamp—and, finally, through the top of the lampshade. The ceiling, thus transformed into a screen, fills with a vortex of rippling clouds that swirl around a central oculus, evoking the eye of a storm.

Medium

Metal, fabric, glass, and electrical and lighting elements on a maple table

Dimensions

41 × 32 1/2 × 46 3/4 in. (104.1 × 82.6 × 118.75 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of Thomas C. Wilfred

Accession Number

1983.66.1

Geography

Made in New York, United States

Culture

American

Period

20th century

Classification

Sculpture

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Bibliography
  • John Stuart Gordon, American Glass: The Collections at Yale (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 2018), 220–21, 271, no. 114, fig. 114A
  • Keely Orgeman et al., Lumia: Thomas Wilfred and the Art of Light, exh. cat. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 2017), 100-101, pl. 1, ill
Object copyright
Copyright Estate of Thomas Wilfred
In Copyright
Additional information

Object/Work type

utilitarian objects

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