ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
THE AUTHORS wish to express their grateful thanks for the opportunity given them by collectors, dealers, and museum officials to photograph the great collections shown here. With the exception of the transparencies furnished by Mr. Ben Nyman and Mr. Robert S. Walker, all photography was done by the authors.
We especially wish to thank the following: J. S. M. Scott; C.J. Share, Curator, Stourbridge Council House; Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Hollis; Tom Jones, Stevens and Williams Ltd.; Robert M. Harris and Herbert W. Woodward, Brierley Hill Library; Dr. Axel von Saldern, Helga Hilschenz and Heinz Marschalk Krefeld, Kunstmuseum, Dusseldorf, Germany; Herr Professor Doctor Helmut Hentrich; Hubert Meurrens and Gilbert Weynans, Lecuyer, Brussels, Belgium; Anne Marie Gillion-Crowet; Therese Francois Charpentier, Conservateur du Musee de l'Ecole de Nancy; Alain Lesieutre, Paris; Robert S. Walker; Ronald Kuchta; Nancy O. Merrill, Curator, Chrysler Art Museum, Institute of Glass; James J. Kux; Italo Barbon; Alfonso Caser; Mr. and Mrs. Ben Nyman; Ralph and Terry Kovel; Harry Buten; Paul Perrot, Director, and Kenneth Wilson, The Corning Museum of Glass.
FOREWORD
EXPOSING THE COLLECTOR AND DEALER to the outstanding achievements of the masters of carving and decorating art glass in Europe during the latter part of the 19th, and first part of the 20th century, is the primary consideration of this book. From the technical accomplishments of the fine English cameo glassmen to the individual expression of the artist, exemplified by the French school, dominated by the designer, botanist, and innovator, Emile Gallé, we have photographed, in color, types of glass that are considered to be among the finest examples in their field.
This glass is seldom offered for sale, and can generally only be seen in the original locales. Visiting the small, but great, museum collections in Nancy, France; Dusseldorf, Germany; and the Stourbridge area of England requires a full day's normal travel time from the major centers of ship and airline transportation. If at all possible, a trip to these top points of interest will stimulate and educate those who wish to further pursue the great study of glass. These museums are not always open, and require appointments.
We have included samples of English and Continental glass which best illustrate a wide range of technical and artistic accomplishment. Based on our adage that "knowledge is recognition" we used only large-sized plates in full color.
Please note that the height only is shown, in inches, no diameters or widths being given. Measurements, for practicality, are to the nearest one-quarter inch.
As in our first book Art Glass Nouveau, all pieces were personally examined, and with the exception of several transparencies that were made available by the individual owners, we did the actual photography ourselves. Again we urge readers to visit the museums listed here, as well as all others with art glass exhibits.
INTRODUCTION
IN THE SPACE of some fifty years centering around the 1900 period, a transformation in the field of glassmaking occurred. These changes came with an outburst by the glass artists and experimentalists at a time of eager acceptance by a public hungry for cultural innovations. Prior to the 1870's, little could be said about emotional form in glass shapes, but after this time not only was there an immediate recognition of the unusual—shapewise—but color also became an integral part of the offerings of the studio glassmaker.
After the Paris Exhibition of 1878, when serious attention was paid to experiment in glass as a decorative art, there was little to stop the tremendous outpouring of original creations during the next twenty years. This momentum carried through until the first World War in 1914, when normal economic restrictions brought operations to a halt. Again continuing into the 1920's, until the depression of the thirties stifled creative work, it took the educational opportunities and awareness of cultural trends by the postwar generation of the 40's to turn the last fifteen years into a collectors' paradise.
Understanding of the importance of the Art Nouveau period, revealed in great, colorful creativity from the 1880's onward, has generated new appreciation and interest in many people and institutions in Europe and America. In our constant moving about, we have become very aware of the various collecting habits and trends of the art-conscious peoples, who now recognize the significance and importance of the mature works of the leading artists of the Art Nouveau period in the total history of art.
It has been our desire to expose the old and new collector to the vast amount of diverse productions available, and with this thought in mind, we have endeavored to search out and photograph the finest examples of art glass of this period.
You will note a relatively new name to appear in association with this glass field. This is the Kunstmuseum, located in Dusseldorf, Germany, only several hours drive from either Amsterdam or Brussels. As a result of important recent bequests, they are currently completing their permanent display of over seven hundred examples of Art Nouveau glass. We did selective photography of this amazing new collection, now being shown to the general public. Curator specialists in the field have charge of this important addition to the Kunstmuseum, and it would be worthwhile for every devotee of the arts to visit here.
AUSTRIA
Loetz Witwe
LOETZ, ALSO KNOWN AS LOETZ WITWE, was one of the largest producers numerically of European art glass. This major Austrian factory is better known for their efforts in the field of iridescent glass than in the cameo field. Plates 3, 4, and Plate 5 illustrate the allover well-designed decorations which at their best are only on a par with the works of the great French cameo artists. However, representative examples in cameo of this factory are extremely scarce. Possibly of greater beauty are Plates 1 and 2 in which the silver overlay was applied in an unusually beautiful design, well in keeping with the finest in this particular branch of the Art Nouveau field. Iridescent glass from the Loetz factory is quite amply covered in our previous book Art Glass Nouveau.
BELGIUM
Val St. Lambert
FOR OVER ONE HUNDRED YEARS, the Val St. Lambert Glass Company in Belgium has been producing fine glassware for the home. However, it was not until after 1900 that they seriously entered the field of Art Nouveau. Plates 6, 9 and 11 amply indicate the varied range of their work. Shapewise, their glass vases are not too unusual, but the orange and brown cameo pieces, with a slight iridescence to them, are extremely subtle. They may be readily identified stylewise and colorwise. For over fifty years, beginning in 1906, Charles Graffart was active in the design and production of their art pieces, and in Plate 12 it is certainly evident that he well merited his responsibility. Figural proportions in the intaglio work are extremely fine, as against the rather crude cameo carving found earlier. Val St. Lambert also manufactured a large quantity of minutely carved tableware, usually in a single color and crystal. These pieces were consistently marked with their name or letter abbreviations. The company today is well known for its high standards of quality and design.
