Harvey Littleton (1922 – 2013) was an American glassware designer. He was born in Corning, New York. He was the son of a Corning Glass Works scientist, he studied ceramics at the Cranbrook Academy of Arts. He was professionally active in the USA and Britain. In a 2001 oral history, he links the emergence of American Art in the years before and after World war 2 to the impact of federal funding and the proliferation of art departments in colleges and universities nationwide.
Education
Between 1939-42 and 1946-47, he studied at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, receiving a bachelor’s degree in design. In 1941 and 1949-51, he studied Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, receiving a master’s degree in ceramics. In 1945, he was a student at the Brighton School of Art, Brighton, under Nora Braden’s tutelage.
Biography
He worked in the manufacturing section of Steuben Glass-works. He and a small group developed glass as an expression of abstract art intended for use in domestic interiors. During World War II, he served in Britain; he enrolled in Nora Braden’s pottery classes near Brighton. In 1945·, he joined Corning Glassworks in Corning, New York.
Before Harvey Littleton, glass was used for eyeglasses and windshields, cups and vases-but, not for heating and blowing into fine art. People worked with glass in industrial settings, not in art studios. That changed when Littleton launched America’s first hot-glass art programme at the University of Wisconsin.
Teacher
Littleton became a well-known teacher and member of the American Crafts Council. In 1957, he studied Hispano-Moresque pottery and was commissioned by the Corning Museum to research Spanish glass. He went to Venice to learn Murano glassmakers’ techniques and set up an artists’ group in the USA based on their practices. He evolved glass as a sculptural medium with little reference to the methods typically used in vessel production.
He deliberately encourages the formation of bubbles and flaws. As his Father directed research at Corning Glassware, Littelton’s mother complains to him, ” Your Father worked 50 years to get the imperfections out of glass and now you’re putting them back in.”
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing. https://amzn.to/3ElmSlL
Choosing Craft: The Artist’s Viewpoint. (2009). United States: University of North Carolina Press.
More on Glassware Designers
-
Orrefors Glasbruk a Swedish glassware manufacturer.
Orrefors Glasbruk is a Swedish glassware manufacturer. An ironworks was established in 1726 on the property of Halleberg ( the Orrefors estate), Socken, Småland. Read More →
-
Pukebergs Glassworks – Swedish Glass Factory
Glassworks in Kosta CW Nyström and JE Lindberg started the mill in 1871. They acquired land from Jonas Bergstrand, a farmer from Madesjö parish, who owned the land at PukebergRead More →
-
William Blenko (1854 – 1926) and Blenko Glassware
Blenko established the first American factory to produce sheet glass for stained glass windows. Blenko’s early successes include providing glass for St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. The White House has a collection of Blenko table ware, used periodically. Wayne Husted pioneered the concept of “architectural scale” designs. Blenko’s “Historic Period” begins with Anderson…
-
Arttu Brummer (1891 – 1951) Finnish designer
Arttu Brummer was a Finnish interior and glassware designer. Brummer set up his own interior design office in 1913. Read More →
-
Simon Gate (1883 – 1945) Swedish artisan and designer
Gate began his long affiliation with the Swedish glassmaking firm Orrefors in 1916. He worked as an artistic director and built the firm foundation for Sweden’sSweden’s substantial modern glass industry, alongside Edvard Hald, Vicke Lindstrand, Knut Bergqvist, and others.Read More →
-
What is the difference between a wine decanter and carafe? 🍷
When you serve wine in a decanter or carafe rather than directly from the bottle, you can completely appreciate its full potential, but why? The wine can oxygenate and aerate, allowing the wine to breathe after being sealed in a bottle for so long. A wine decanter has a reputation for being a formal and…
-
Jacques Gruber (1870 – 1936) French Stained Glass artist and designer
Jacques Gruber (1870-1936) was a French stained-glass artist, designer, and teacher, born Sundhausen, Alsace. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, under Gustave Moreau. He was distinguished as a designer in the Art Nouveau idiom. Read More →
-
Masakichi Awashima (1914 – 1979) Japanese Glassware Designer
After studying design at the Japan Art School in Tokyo, Awashima worked for artisan Kozo Kagami, who had studied Western glass methods in Germany from 1935 to 1946. Read More →
-
Pavel Hlava (1924 – 2003) Czech Glassware Designer
He was best known for his cut and engraved glass. Hlava enhanced a number of innovative technologies, both in terms of conception and manufacturing. These featured melted silver leaf and other materials, as well as skeleton moulds for shaping glass.Read More →
-
Hiroshi Yamano – Exquisite Japanese Glass Designs
Kiroshi Yamano is a Japanese Glass Designer. He studied at the Tokyo Glass Crafts Institute to 1984 and Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York, to 1989. Read More →
-
Aimo Okkolin (1917 – 1982) Finnish Glass Designer
He made deeply cut crystal objects that were often coloured. He used a lot of nature subjects. The most famous is “Lumpeenkukka”. This glass object, designed by Okkolin in 1960, was Riihimäki Lasi’s best-selling single object. Okkolini’s glassware was presented to several foreign heads of state. He continued working for Riihimäki Glass until 1976 when…
-
Riihimaki Glass – Finnish Glass Factory
Riihimäki Glass was a Finnish glass factory. The factory, established in 1810 for the production of domestic glassware, began production of window glass in 1919. It purchased various small factories, including the factory in which the Finnish Glass Museum is located today. After buying the Kaukalahti glassworks in 1927, Riihimaki became the largest glass factory…
-
Lino Tagliapietra (b.1934) Italian Glassworker and Teacher
From 1956, Tagliapietra taught glassmaking with Archimede Seguso and Nane Ferro; 1966—68, designed glass for Venini, Murano; until 1968, for Murrina; from 1968, taught glassmaking at Haystack School and Pilchuck School, Stanwood, Washington. Read More →
-
Arne Jon Jutrem (1929 – 2005) Norwegian Designer
Jutrem was educated at the Norwegian School of Crafts and Design 1946-1950, and at the same time received painting lessons from Carl von Hanno. Later studies with Fernand Léger in Paris 1952-53 and with Chrix Dahl 1954-55. He made his debut as a painter at the Autumn Exhibition in 1950.Read More →
-
Gunnel Gustafsson Nyman (1909 – 1948) Finnish glass and textile designer
Nyman worked for all the great Finnish glass manufacturers of the 20th century: Riihimaki from 1932—47, Nuutajarvi-Notsjo from 1946—48, and Karhula from 1935—37 (and at littala from 1946—47). She designed for both production and studio glass.Read More →
-
Barbini Glasswork Italian Glass Manufacturers
Alfredo Barbini, a descendant of glassmakers from the early 15th century, studied at Abate Zanetti (design school at Murano glass museum) from age ten; in 1930, began studying at Cristalleria, Murano, becoming a maestro; became primo maestro at Martinuzzi and Zecchin; worked with Cenedese in the late 1940sRead More →
-
Sam Herman (1936 – 2020) American Glass Designer & Teacher
He studied sculpture at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, under Leo Steppern; in 1966, glass making with Harvey Littleton and Dominick Labino; in 1966, Edinburgh College of Art; in 1967, Royal College of Art, London.Read More →
-
Dichroic glass – two coloured glass
Dichroic glass is a type of glass created in the 1990s using the space-age technology known as ‘thin film physics. Dichroic which means “two colours” is a particular kind of glass Read More →
-
René Lalique (1860 – 1945) French goldsmith and glassmaker
Artisan in glass and creator of family firm Cristal Lalique René Lalique was a FrenchRead More →
-
Mount Washington Glass – American Glassware Manufacturer
Mount Washington Glass is an American glassware manufacturer. It is located in South Boston and New Bedford, Massachusetts.Read More →
-
Hermann Bongard Norwegian graphic & glassware designer
Hermann Bongard Norwegian graphic designer and glassware designer. He studied lithography and commercial design. Read MoreRead More →
-
Ulla Forsell (b.1944) Swedish Glassware Designer
Ulla Forsell was born in 1944 and studied at the College of Art and DesignRead More →
-
Dominick Labino (1910 – 1987) American glassware designer and ceramicist
He began his work as an instrument builder for the Bacharach Instrument Company in Pittsburgh. He then moved on to Owens-Illinois Glass Company, where he developed a lifetime interest in glass. He established small laboratories to create new glass batches and fabricate small glass objects while in command of the Owens-Illinois Glass Company milk-bottle plant.…
-
Harvey Littleton (1922 – 2013) American glassware designer
Between 1939-42 and 1946-47, he studied at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, receiving a bachelor’s degree in design. In 1941 and 1949-51, he studied Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, receiving a master’s degree in ceramics. In 1945, he was a student at the Brighton School of Art, Brighton, under Nora Braden’s…
-
Wilhelm Wagenfeld (1900 – 1990) German architect and industrial designer
He was an assistant lecturer at the Bauhaus in Weimar from 1922 to 1929, where he primarily designed lighting fixtures. Read More →
-
Klaus Moje (1936 – 2016) German Glass Designer
Around 1975, Moje began cutting the rods into thin wafers or strips and fusing them in a kiln. The pieces would then be cut again and re-fused to create rhythmic patterns of vibrant colour. In 1976, Moje returned to Hamburg after living in Danzinger Strasse. Read More →
-
Ingeborg Lundin (1921 – 1991) Swedish Glassware Designer
Ingeborg Lundin (1921 – 1991) was a Swedish Glassware Designer. Between 1941 – 1946 she studied at Konstaackskolan and Tekniska Skolan, Stockholm.Read More →
-
Iittala Raami 12-Ounce Glass Bowl, Sea Blue, by Jasper Morrison
Raami, designed by Jasper Morrison, adds a touch of effortless beauty to any space. Simple, adaptable, and high-quality tableware is framed by careful design that allows the room to take on its own personality. Breakfast, desserts, and cold meals go well in this sea blue Raami bowl. Finland-made pressed glass.Read More →
-
Jean Luce (1895 – 1964) French ceramicist and glassware designer
French designer. He worked primarily in ceramics, but also designed for glass and gold. His ceramics, in an Art Deco style, were manufactured in Limoges Read More →
-
Kaj Franck Finnish textile and glassware designer
Kaj Franck was a Finnish textile and glassware designer and ceramicist. He was born in Viipuri, Finland. Often referred to as the “conscience of Finnish design,”Read More →
-
Benny Anette Motzfeldt (1909-1995) Norwegian graphic artist, designer
Motzfeldt is best known for her glass creations. Her work is on show at the National Museum of Art, Architecture, and Design in Oslo, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Kunstindustrimuseum in Copenhagen, the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, and the Frauenau Glass Museum in Germany (donation Wolfgang Kermer). Read More →
-
Etsuko Nishi (b.1955) Japanese Glass Designer
Etsuko Nishi is a Japanese Glass Designer. She is a leading expert in pâte de verre, one of the oldest and most difficult glass-making forms. The desired shape is first made of clay, which is used as the basis for the mould. The glass powder is then mixed with a special type of paste, and…
-
Michael Boehm (b.1944) German Glassware and Ceramics Designer
Boehm joined Rosenthal in 1966. His limited-edition Reticelli range illustrated his interest in Italian glass by incorporating cotton twist threads in the molten glass-like 17th-century Venetian vessels. Read More →
-
Paolo Venini (1895 – 1959) Italian Glassware Designer
Murano glassware was historically decorated with opulent rubies and gold and fanciful forms in vibrant colours. He hired freelance designers like Martinuzzi and Fulvio Bianconi regularly. Gio Ponti from 1927, Carlo Scarpa from 1932, Eugene Berman from 1951, Ken Scott from 1951, Franco Albini from 1954, and Massimo Vignelli from 1956 were the designers he…
-
Teruo Yamada (b.1945) Japanese Glassware Designer
His work was shown at 1980 ‘Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition,’ Tokyo; 1981 and 1990 ‘Glass in Japan,’ Tokyo; 1985 ‘New Glass in Japan,’ Badisches Landesmuseum, Karlsruhe; 1987 ‘The Art of Contemporary Japanese Studio Glass,’ Heller Gallery, New York; 1991 (V) Triennale of the Japan Glass Art Crafts Association, Heller Gallery.Read More →
-
Yuri Masaki Japanese glass designer
Yuri Masaki is a Japanese glass designer she was president of the Masaki Glass and Art Studio. Her work was included in 1987 and 1990…Read More →
-
Vicke Lindstrand (1904- 1983) Swedish glassware designer
He worked at Kariskrona Porslinsfabrik from 1935 to 1936; at Upsala-Ekeby from 1936 to 1950 (as art director from 1943 to 1950) Kosta Boda glassworks from 1950 to 1973, where he was design director while also maintaining his studio in Arhus. Often, his free-form work was engraved.Read More →
-
Grethe Meyer (1918 – 2008) Danish architect, & designer of furniture & glassware
She worked on the editorial staff of The Building Manual from 1944 to 1955. She was a crucial figure in Borge Mogensen’s research on the standardisation of consumer product sizes, and she collaborated with him frequently. They created the Boligens Byggeskabe (BB) and resund cabinet-storage systems in 1957.Read More →
-
Per Lütken (1916 – 1988) Danish Glassware Designer
Lütken was the principal designer at Kastrup & Holmegard Glasverk from 1942 to 1945, where he adopted his predecessor Jacob Bang’s Modern shapes. In the 1950s, he implemented considerable improvements in manufacturing and aesthetic at Holmegard, inspired by the Triennali di Milano. His pieces featured fluid forms in light-coloured glass, some of which had satin-finish…
-
Sigurd Persson (1914 – 2003) Swedish metalworker & glassware designer
Sigurd Persson (1914–2003) was a Swedish sculptor, blacksmith, and professor who is regarded as one of the twentieth century’s most influential Swedish designers. Growing up in a goldsmith family, Persson founded his studio in Stockholm in 1942. Throughout his long career, he crafted objects in various materials ranging from metal to glass to plastic. Read…
-
Kosta Boda Swedish glass manufacturer
Kosta Boda, for much of its early life, this famous Swedish glassmaking company’s production centred on drinking glasses, chandeliers, and window panes. However, in the late nineteenth century, with the employment of designers such as Alf Wallander and Gunnar Wennenberg, a more concerted design policy emerged, resulting in more fashionable, Art Nouveau-inspired products.Read More →
-
Finn Lynggaard Danish ceramicist and glassware designer
In 1958, he established his own workshop, making him a pioneer in the field of Danish studio glass. Deeply coloured flower designs on translucent backgrounds are a signature of his glasswork.Read More →
-
Willy Johansson (1921- 1993) Norwegian Glass Designer
His father was at the Hadelands Glassverk, Jevnaker, where Johansson joined the glassmaking workshop in 1936. He was best known for the white rim on his clear or smoked glassware.Read More →
-
Timo Sarpaneva (1926 – 2006) Finnish Glass Designer
He also had a lot of success in the related fields of sculpture, painting, and graphic design. He could work with a lot of different materials, such as porcelain, iron, and plastic. Read More →
-
Sigmund Pollitzer (1913 – 1983) British painter, decorative glass designer and writer
Sigmund Pollitzer (1913 – 1983) was a painter, decorative glass designer, and writer from the United Kingdom. He was born in the city of London.Read More →
-
Jean Sala (1895 – 1976) Spanish glassmaker and designer
He was primarily taught by his glassblower father and is now regarded as one of the most accomplished Art Deco glass artists. Read More →
-
Flavio Poli (1900 – 1984) Italian designer of glassware
Flavio Poli (1900 – 1984) was an Italian designer of glassware. He was born in Chioggia and worked in Venice professionally. He was born in 1900 and studied art at the Istituto d’Arte di Venezia before working as a ceramicist.Read More →
-
Léon Ledru (1855 -1926) French glassmaker
Léon Ledru (1855-1926) was a French glassmaker and designer. He was the manager of the design department of the Cristalleries du Val-Saint-Lambert in Belgium for 38 years. Through the work the firm showed at the 1897 Brussels ‘Exposition Internationale,’ he stimulated interest in avant-garde design.Read More →
-
Pâte de Verre – art and design term
Pâte de Verre (French, “glass paste”) is a material produced by grinding glass into a fine powder, adding a binder to create a paste, and adding a fluxing medium to facilitate melting. The paste is brushed or tamped into a mould, dried, and fused by firing. After annealing, the object is removed from the mould…
-
Saint-Gobain French glass and crystal manufacturer
Saint-Gobain is a French glass and crystal manufacturer that is located Chapelle St.-Mesmin. Saint-Gobain produced a basic glass design intended for picnics and sold throughout the world for general use. One of its more unique and widely published products was the 1937 illuminated glass radiator by Rene Coulon, who was instrumental in establishing the Institut…
-
Webb Corbett British glassware manufacturer
Webb Corbett is a British glassware manufacturer, located in Stourbridge.Irene Stevens joined Webb Corbett as a designer in 1946. L. Green designed its 1958 Bouquet range of cut glass. David Marquess of Queensberry was retained as a consultant designer in the early 1960s.Read More →