Driscoll, Clara, 1861-1944

Clara Driscoll (December 15, 1861 – November 6, 1944) of Tallmadge, Ohio, was head of the Tiffany Studios Women's Glass Cutting Department (the "Tiffany Girls"), in New York City. Using patterns created from the original designs, these women selected and cut the glass to be used in the famous lamps. Driscoll designed more than thirty Tiffany lamps produced by Tiffany Studios, among them the Wisteria, Dragonfly, Peony, and from all accounts her first — the Daffodil.[1][2][3][4][5] Clara Driscoll was born Clara Pierce Wolcott on December 15, 1861, Clara showed a flair for art, and after attending the Western Reserve School of Design for Women (now the Cleveland Institute of Art) and working for a local furniture maker, she moved to New York and enrolled at the then new Metropolitan Museum Art School.[6]

Driscoll's artistic potential was apparent and she was hired by Louis Comfort Tiffany to work at Tiffany Glass Company (later known as Tiffany Studios) in 1888.[7] She worked there off and on for more than 20 years, designing lamps and fancy goods as well as supervising the Women's Glass Cutting Department.[7] Engaged or married women were not allowed to work at the company, so Driscoll had to leave because of her marriage in 1889. After Driscoll's first husband Francis Driscoll died in 1892, she resumed working for Tiffany. She became engaged again in 1896-1897, to Edwin Waldo, but he disappeared and no marriage occurred. She remained at Tiffany Studios until her marriage to Edward A. Booth in 1909.[6] While employed with Tiffany, Driscoll worked closely with a number of other "Tiffany Girls" including Alice Carmen Gouvy and Lillian Palmié.[6]