Kingswood School Cranbrook Dormitory Lounge Floor Lamp

In December 1931, E. F. Caldwell Company made eight "3-light electric reflector standards, made of brass, and finished entirely in very light and very green bronze.".

These lamps are very similar to those designed by Eliel Saarinen for the Academy Residence #1 (Saarinen House) in 1929-1930, also manufactured by Edward F. Caldwell & Co. The eight lamps in the Kingswood Dormitory Corridor are more simple in their design, with more simple fluting and no ornament along the base. As at Saarinen House, the lamp is made of a bronze cast base and shaft, and a hammered copper reflector, all of which is patinated to the same green finish.

The lamps are believed to be designed by Eliel Saarinen, with the plans (AD.08.531) labeled as "Drawn by Eero Saarinen." This implies Eero was the draftsman, not the designer.

Kevin Adkisson
Curator
September 2022

Edward F. Caldwell & Co. (1895-1959)

Edward F. Caldwell & Co. was one of America’s most prominent lighting and furnishing firms in the early twentieth century. They played a leading role in the transition from designing lights for gas, oil, or candle flames to electricity. For their clientele, which included many of the wealthiest individuals and institutions in America, they offered an extensive catalog of thousands of designs for chandeliers, wall sconces, table, and floor lamps, in styles ranging from medieval revival to the cutting edge of Art Deco modernism.

Mariam Hale
2023-2025 Collections Fellow
Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research
March 2024