Frederick Carder

Born, 150 years ago today, September 18, 1863, in Brockmoor, Kingswinford, Staffordshire, England. Son of Annie and Caleb Carder. At age 40 emigrated to the United States in 1903 to cofound the Steuben Glass Works. Died at age 100 in Corning, NY on December 10, 1963.

“AN APPRECIATION”

from introduction comments by Thomas P. Dimitroff in the text, Objects of Desire, The Art of Frederick Carder by Alan Shovers.

“Few knew it at the time, but early March, 1903, was destined to become an important time in the history of American decorative arts for it was then that an English glassmaker named Frederick Carder stepped off a ship at New York City. Less than two weeks later, it was publicly announced that he and Thomas G. Hawkes of American cut glass fame were opening a new glass factory in the little upstate New York community of Corning. This was the beginning of an adventure in American art glass without parallel. This was the beginning of Steuben Glass.

Frederick Carder came to America well-equipped to run a glass works and produce beautiful art glass. He had worked at Stevens & Williams, one of England’s premier glass companies, as a glass designer and chemist since 1880. In 1903 when Carder came to America he was already recognized by the English glassmaking world as a successful leader, teacher, and artist. Frederick Carder brought to America not only skills and experience in glassmaking and design, but also a philosophy and personal understanding of art that grew from the experiences of his English glassmaking years. Perhaps the strongest beliefs he brought to America had their genesis in the English Arts and Crafts movement, a movement which led Carder to believe in craftsmanship almost to the point of worshipping it. This belief, plus his life-long commitment to glass, to quality and to the beauty of good design, defined what Steuben is all about and has been since 1903. Carder wrote about his strong feelings regarding craftsmanship and quality often. In 1923, for instance, he wrote about what was happening in the manufacture of American glass

Other factories have since turned their attention to the making of colored glass, one or two making a good product, while others are making it cheap and hasty-this latter tendency on the part of some American glass manufacturers is deplorable, and, as in the case of cut glass some years ago, can mean only one thing, ruin to the industry.

As (John) Ruskin said. “A disposition for cheapness and not for excellence of workmanship is the most frequent and certain cause of decay and destruction of arts and manufacturers.’

Let us hope that the American manufacturers will look to it that this beautiful art craft is fostered and encouraged. (Frederick Carder, ‘Artistic Glassware,Journal of the American Ceramic Society, January, 1923, 231.)

Frederick Carder has left us much. He has enriched all of our lives. He has given us Steuben, a company that continues to this very day to produce beautiful art glass emphasizing craftsmanship, quality, and design. During his tenure at Steuben from 1903 to 1932, Carder, as a glass chemist, created over 140 colors and types of Steuben glass including Aurene, Cluthra, Cintra, Florentia, Ivrene, and Moresque to mention just a few. As a designer during this same period, he designed some 8000 shapes to be made as Steuben objects.

Carder’s creativity, knowledge, talent, skill, and productivity over his 80-year career in art glass have left museums, collectors, artists, glassmakers, students, historians and all Americans a rich legacy. His eclecticism in design resulted in his designs reflecting influences from all parts of the world and all time periods and styles. Amazingly, these designs remain relatively timeless and reflect a uniqueness that is Carder’s. His range of techniques of glassmaking also spans all of glass history. Frederick Carder believed that glass was a wondrous thing given almost a life of its own by its ability to reflect and refract and transmit light. He also believed that it was color that could then escalate the innate beauty of glass to greater and greater heights.

Frederick Carder’s creations offer much. Perhaps most importantly, however, his life and his creations constantly remind us of the importance of beauty, craftsmanship, and quality. How much more can we ask.

Thomas P. Dimitroff

Honorary Curator, the Rockwell Museum, Frederick Carder Collection

Corning, New York”

April 25, 2005

Carder Portrait

2013 Carder Steuben Club annual Symposium will be held at The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY from September 19-21, 2013. The festivities will begin with Frederick Carder’s 150th birthday celebration on the evening of September 18, 2013.

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