During a prior retrospective on the life and art of Canadian glass sculptor James Houston published here at Boha, the subject of Steuben glass naturally arose; namely, that the firm, once reputed to produce the clearest crystal on Earth, had closed its doors—presumably forever—in 2011. However, what appeared to be yet another sad end to […]
Steuben Glass – A Phoenix Rising? Continue Reading »
Bauhaus was an artistic movement that embraced design in many of its multifarious forms. Although today closely associated with architecture, it was an attempt to connect all forms of art and design through the social fusion of art with life. The movement was founded by German architect Walter Gropius in 1919 in Weimar with the
Bauhaus: An Everlasting Design Legacy Continue Reading »
A few decades before the world-renowned Steuben glassworks closed its doors forever in 2011, it was dominating the world of glass art sculpture thanks to its impossibly clear, intricately detailed pieces depicting life in the far northern reaches of Canada. These glass art sculptures—which at their zenith commanded prices of nearly $20,000 U.S. dollars—were not
From Fire to Ice: James Houston’s Mesmerising Glass Art Sculptures Continue Reading »
While we have previously discussed the safety and basic history of that most enticingly eerie of fin de siecle and early 20th century glass varieties—Uranium or “Vaseline” glass—in our piece Uranium Glass: Haunting Green Beauty, there is much more that remains to be said about this unique and controversial form of art glass. The science
Coloured Glass: The Mysterious Glow of Vaseline Glass Continue Reading »
When studying antique art glass, it’s easy to get caught up in the grandiosity of it all—towering stained glass windows shattering the sun into a thousand colours, tall vases which swirl with galactic patterns, and great bowls and platters adorned with intricate scenes and figures that hold all the grace of the classical age. There
Antique Art Glass: Bohemian Buttons Continue Reading »
Iridescent Dreams: The Story of Louis Comfort Tiffany There is no question that in the realm of Art Nouveau glass, and within the aesthetic of Art Nouveau as a whole, Louis Comfort Tiffany is the stuff of legend. Best known for being the father of Tiffany art glass, Louis Tiffany helped to establish America as
Tiffany Art Glass Continue Reading »
Paul Ysart’s Paperweights The mark of any great artist is the ability to create pieces which capture not only the eye, but also the imagination; whatever their medium, they are able to transport the viewer off into another world, a new realm of possibilities. Out of all of the Ysart clan, Paul Ysart was likely
Art Glass Creations by Paul Ysart Continue Reading »
No series on the Ysart family would be complete without a chapter on their contribution to the history of Scottish paperweights. While the Vasart team and Paul Ysart (who by this era was estranged from his father and brothers, having remained at Moncrieff Glassworks) had vastly different outlooks on paperweights, each branch of the Ysart
Decorative Glass: Ysart Family Paperweights Continue Reading »
The small but passionate segment of the antique art glass community who become devoted collectors of Monart glass soon run into a perplexing phenomenon: Many of the “lookalikes” that pass for Monart glass are not in fact modern fakes, but are instead the work of the same family responsible for creating the pieces Moncrieff glassworks
Hand Crafted Glass: Ysart’s Vasart Years Continue Reading »
Monart Glass: Designs and Production Techniques The designs used for Monart glass pieces are, by and large, typical of the handmade art glass of the era; what truly sets Monart apart from its contemporaries is its use of colour. Monart glass is, for example, much loved by collectors for the distinctive iridising of the white
Handmade Art Glass: Monart Glass Continue Reading »