Greene & Greene

The Greenes began their working relationship with James A. Culbertson in 1902, constructing a residence at 235 North Grand Avenue in Pasadena.  To a large extent the house reflects the variety of influences at work on the Greenes at this time.  Although the Culbertson house resembled a half-timber English country house, it was positioned and planned to take advantage of its natural setting overlooking the Arroyo Seco Valley.  On the interior, exposed wooden beams showed the influence of Japanese timber design in the Greenes work at this stage, and the furnishings chosen were a mix of Native American rugs, Stickley furniture and Tiffany lighting, all very much in the accepted vocabulary of the American Arts & Crafts movement.

In 1907, the Greenes undertook a series of significant modifications to the house.  The entry and stairwell were redeveloped and expanded, and a large dining room was added in the space that had originally been the kitchen.  The extent of these changes and the tremendous attention given to every aspect show just how far the brothers had come in the evolution of their design concepts over the five year period.  The integration of all of the decorative features, the original and artistic nature of the work, and the extremely high standard of workmanship mark the Culbertson renovations as a seminal moment in the Greenes' development toward their inimitable mature style.

In the new dining room, delicately carved frieze panels portrayed almost mystical scenes of Asia.  The frieze panels were of redwood, and the appreciation that the Greenes had for the innate features of the wood grain dictated the artistic themes portrayed.  The low relief carvings were then delicately tinted with color or burnished with gold leaf for maximum effect.  A large panel of mountain peaks resembling Mt. Fuji was inset above the copper fireplace hood of the dining room, which was itself decorated with abstracted cloud forms in repoussé.  The oak-paneled entry was decorated with a similarly-carved redwood frieze of fruiting trees, bearing a banner that proclaimed ''The Glory of the House is Hospitality.''  Further adding to the wealth of decorative detail in these rooms were the lighting elements.  The entry now included a hanging lantern in the stairwell.  The dining and living rooms also incorporated large leaded art glass sconces.

The amazing advances apparent in the Culbertson renovations of 1907 reveal that the Greenes had now found reliable partners capable of carrying out the detailed schemes they envisioned.  By 1906, they had joined forces on a permanent basis with the talented woodworkers Peter and John Hall to produce all of their interior fittings and furnishings.  Likewise, during work on the Henry M. Robinson house around 1907 they collaborated with the glassworker Emile Lange and now had a craftsman at their disposal who could realize their most intricate designs in art glass.  The iridized glass used in this and future commissions had a softer and more subtle character which could change in color and intensity depending on its exposure to electric or natural light.

Two types of art glass sconces were produced for the Culbertson house.  Some featured relatively simple rectilinear compositions, reflecting the more straightforward and practical design approach of Henry.  By contrast, the whimsical motifs of abstracted natural forms are likely the work of Charles.  Thus the sconces have sometimes been referred to as the ''portrait sconces'' because they reflect the dual aesthetics of the brothers.  The lantern and sconce offered here, with their decoration of meandering vines, are likely to have been imagined by Charles.

Both the Culbertson hall lantern and wall sconce epitomize the zenith of the Greenes’ creative designs in lighting.  They illustrate, as completely as any of their furnishings can, the poetic sensibilities brought to bear and the degree of sensitivity to the medium that makes the Greenes’ work so unique and so much admired today.