The present model was designed by Richard Kelly for Philip Johnson's Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut. Presented with the challenge of lighting a glass-walled space, Kelly developed a lamp to minimise glare and reflections. His solution was constructed from a bulb hidden in a canister lined with fins (an idea lifted from theatrical lighting), a shallow conical shade to diffuse the light that emanated from the base and one of the first dimmer cords to be found in a residential setting. The result was a lamp form truly derived from its intended function. The present lot, from the 5th Avenue apartment of William A.M. Burden, is an example of the original three-leg design used in Johnson's residential projects of the early 1950s, of which there are less than ten known extant examples. The model that was commercially available through the late 1960s had a fourth leg.