Glass in its functional forms””drinking glasses and kitchenware, bottles and windows ”“ is so familiar that we just take it for granted. It”™s everyday and everywhere ”“ practical, useful, replaceable, inexpensive.
But there”™s another aspect to glass ”“ imaginative, colorful, beautiful, artful. Much of this type of glass is the product of the American studio glass movement that started in the 1960s in a workshop at Ohio”™s Toledo Museum of Art. There a ceramist named Harvey Littleton and glass artist Domenic Labino demonstrated a small glassblowing furnace that allowed aspiring glass artists to work for the first time on an individual scale in their own studios. Up to this point, glassmaking could only take place in factories with large industrial furnaces.
The studio glass movement, like many other aspects of mid-century modern design, placed an emphasis on the artist as designer and maker, a creative talent and a hands-on artisan as well. The movement also stressed the importance of one-of-a-kind and thus limited production and a free exchange of technical knowledge.
The result was a dazzling flowering of glass as sculptural art and self-expression. The colorful creations inspired by that movement continue to be admired, collected and displayed in homes, museums and public places around the country and the rest of the world.
American studio glass is part of an international movement. France, Czechoslovakia, Sweden and above all Italy have long traditions of fine glassmaking. Dale Chihuly, the dean of American studio glass, was the first American to be admitted to work in the famed Murano factories. When he returned, he started the Pilchuck Glass School near
Seattle, sharing the techniques he had learned and inspiring generations of glass artists to create works that have become treasured by connoisseurs and collectors.
The great glass factories of Murano near Venice are acknowledged as the oldest continuously operating centers of fine glass production. The popularity of affordable European travel starting in the 1950s resulted in a shining array of Murano glass brought back to the States as examples of mid-century modern design.
Many of these pitchers, vases, bowls and figural objects, souvenirs of a long-ago vacation, are waiting to be rediscovered ”“ possibly profitably ”“ in a family breakfront or corner cabinet.
When it comes to American studio glass, pieces by leading names like Chihuly, Mary Ann Zinsky, William Morris, Beth Lipman, Howard Ben Tr̩, Martin Lipofsky and Dan Dailey can command prices up there with the best European work. That said, itӪs also true that unique examples of this intriguing art form can be acquired for far less than the price, for example, of trendy contemporary paintings.
Studio glass has it all ”“ style, color, form, technical mastery. Whether it”™s a single “statement” piece or a carefully curated collection, examples of this brilliant art and craft can enliven any setting. Desirable pieces show up regularly on the secondary market. Not all great studio glass is signed, so buyers and sellers alike should consult with the glass specialists at BonhamsSkinner to learn more about value.
Contact Katie at katie.whittle@bonhamsskinner.com or 212-787-1117.
