By Ben Marks — How would a priceless collection of Tiffany glass survive a catastrophic earthquake? Takeo Horiuchi didn't want to find out. As one of the world's most respected and passionate collectors of Louis Comfort Tiffany glass, lamps, and other decorative objects, Horiuchi learned last year that the new museum he was planning to build for his incomparable collection of fragile masterpieces was located in a highly active earthquake zone. Fearful that almost 20 years of effort might be turned into...

The Social Agenda of Art Nouveau

By Elisabeth Horth — Art Nouveau was a huge movement. It wasn’t only about architecture; it touched every artistic discipline. It dealt with architecture, of course, but also with furniture, pottery, painting, and embroidery. In an Art Nouveau home, the artists took care of everything—the jewelry, the dress of the patron, the furniture, the garden, the lights and lamps, the stained-glass windows, the staircase, even the wallpaper. Before Art Nouveau, the decorative arts were divided into separate...