John Robbins Loring

John Robbins Loring, 86, passed away peacefully at his home with his son, Benjamin Andrew Havrilak, by his side on June 6, 2026. Born in Chicago in 1939, Loring graduated from Yale University in 1960 before continuing his artistic studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His early career reflected a broad creative curiosity that would become his hallmark. Two very special people instrumental in launching him on his life’s path were Charlotte Ailloux in Paris and Eleanor Lambert when he arrived in New York. He served as New York bureau chief of Architectural Digest under Paige Rense, where he developed a reputation as one of the leading voices in design and aesthetics.

In 1979, Loring joined Tiffany & Co. as Design Director, beginning a thirty-year tenure that would transform the iconic American jeweler. Under his leadership, Tiffany evolved from a storied jewelry house into a global luxury lifestyle brand while remaining rooted in its heritage of craftsmanship and design excellence. He worked alongside some of the most influential creative figures of the twentieth century, including Elsa Peretti, Paloma Picasso, and Jean Schlumberger, helping shape collections and brand narratives that became part of Tiffany’s enduring identity. Among his many contributions was the design of the Tiffany Atlas watch and the preservation and celebration of Tiffany’s rich archives.

Loring was not only a designer but also Tiffany’s foremost historian and storyteller. Over the course of his career, he authored more than twenty books chronicling Tiffany history, artistry, gemstones, silver, watches, fashion, and cultural influence. His publications became definitive references for collectors, historians, and admirers of Tiffany’s design legacy. Several of these works were edited by his close friend Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Along with his published books, John Loring has written extensively on art and design for major journal publications, including Architectural Digest, The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, and many others, as found in his archive.

His influence extended far beyond Fifth Avenue. Loring’s artwork resides in major museum collections, including those of the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He served on the acquisitions committee of the Museum of Modern Art and remained an active advocate for design, photography, and the decorative arts throughout his life.

Tivoli Gardens, the world-famous amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark, becomes a holiday wonderland with a renowned artistic light display created by John Loring

In recognition of his achievements, Loring received numerous honors, including the Pratt Legends Award, the Dallas Fashion Award, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Museum of Arts and Design. Yet perhaps his greatest accomplishment was his ability to make great design accessible, meaningful, and enduring for millions around the world.

The John Loring Papers, 1961-2020 at Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library (RBML), New York, consist of correspondence, photographs, articles by and about him, and other materials that document his long and storied life. This includes his own work as an artist,

and interior and garden designer, and his long tenure as Design Director of Tiffany & Co. but also documents of his wide range of friends and admirers, including such European royalty as Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark and her sister, Queen Anna Maria of Greece; his work with Jacqueline Kennedy when she served as editor of a number of his books on Tiffany; actors, artists and celebrities such as Audrey Hepburn, Bette Davis, Peggy Guggenheim, Joseph Losey, Ray Johnson, Harry Benson, Harold Pinter, "Ultra Violet”; and his own extensive work as a journalist. Loring also gave as a gift to RBML the archive of his grandfather’s circus, The Burr Robbins Circus collection, 1864-1908, which in its time was the third largest circus in America.

John Loring’s legacy lives on in the pages he wrote, the objects he helped create, and the timeless sense of beauty and style he championed throughout his distinguished career. He will be remembered as one of the most influential custodians of American luxury, a gifted historian of design, and a creative force whose impact on the broader world of design will endure for generations.

He will be interred after a private service at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, IL. Instead of flowers, donations can be made in Memory of John Loring to the Van Buren County Historical Society in Hartford, Michigan.