Friday, November 16, 2012

Join the Carder Steuben Club and receive a membership in the Corning Museum of Glass and a free DVD showing the magnificent Reifschlager Gallery at the Rockwell Museum prior to its closing. All for $35.

http://cardersteubenclub.org/membership/membership-form.cfm

Some discussion about the Art Institute of Chicago

Alan,

The Art Institute of Chicago lists 8 or 9 pieces of Steuben Glass; 5 from Fredrick Carter and 4 others from later artists, such as Sidney Waugh, John Drees, and Manship.

It also has 19 Tiffany & Co. objects; 5 are glass and the others are silver or furniture. I guess the Art Institute of Chicago is not into the glass as much as we would like.

Gerry Eggert, Gaithersburg, Maryland

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Hi Alan,

I wonder if anyone has paused to wonder why a museum would sometimes CHOOSE not to display the glass that has been donated?

The small collection of five “Steuben” pieces at The Art Institute of Chicago are all venetian glass that was NOT donated as Steuben.

This was about the time that Eric Ericson’s Book was the only one available on Steuben and some venetian glass items were just being recognized as having been made by Carder.

There was a ‘light in the foot” and very strange dealer from Denver who dealt in venetian glass because it was inexpensive. Well, he thought he had hit the mother lode and suddenly, his whole inventory became Steuben! This, along with Ericson’s Book only added to the confusion!

The Steuben Venetian Glass was made for only a short time and is still difficult to attribute although Gardner’s Book added some clarification. It has never been very popular, desirable or expensive.

Now you can imagine why a museum, who has an ongoing high dollar bequest, would choose not to display it. While the donor was alive, it WAS on display and was immediately relegated to the archives upon her death.
Jo Ann Godawa, Bellevue, Nebraska

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Next up, some commentary about the Historic Glass Museum in Redlands California Steuben Collection

You posted a lovely image of the glass you display. As an East Coast resident, I couldn’t help but wonder about the glass shelves holding the glass items in an area prone to earthquake activity. Has this ever been a problem and how do you deal with the potential.

Charles Sweigart, Reinholds, Pennsylvania

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Nice to see the Carder Steuben collection at the Historic Glass museum, however Joann might like to know that the cobalt blue compote in the lower right corner (with the bubble ball connector) is in fact Pairpoint from New Bedford MA. Looking forward to seeing the collections from other museums. Who knows, we may spot something we have not seen before!

Harry Morgan, Beverly, Massachusetts

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Alan, Maybe someone on the west coast can help the Redlands Museum sort out their Carder Steuben glass from the others makers. I see at least 3 pieces of Bohemian glass by Rindskopf and maybe others in the collection.

Leigh Alan Demrow, Janesville, Wisconsin

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For the sake of clarity, I did want to point out that, in the photograph Joann sent of the HGM’s collection of CS glass, you can see that not all of the glass that is visible is Steuben, but all of the museum’s Steuben is in the photograph. I’d also like to point out that we are very proud of the example of Intarsia that graces the top shelf. All (or at least most) of the Steuben in the collection was a bequest from a Southern California donor who had had NO contact with the museum prior to his death!

Gosh, imagine what a museum might acquire for its collection if it actually courted donors?

Michael Krumme, Los Angeles

www.cardersteubenclub.org

Any opinions expressed by participants to the Gazette e-mail newsletters are the opinions of the authors and are not endorsed by or the opinions of the Carder Steuben Club.

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.

The Carder Steuben Club, 60 E. Market Street #204, Corning, NY 14830

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