Blue/Ruby Spray

Artist Harvey K. Littleton (American, 1922-2013)

Date1990

Dimensionslargest of the twelve parts: 17 x 3 7/8 x 13 5/8 in. (43.2 x 9.8 x 34.7 cm);
smallest of the twelve parts: 5 1/16 x 2 9/16 x 3 15/16 in. (12.9 x 6.5 x 10 cm)

Mediumbarium potash glass

ClassificationGlass

Credit LinePartial gift of Ross E. Lucke in memory of Betty S. Lucke, by exchange, and partial purchase with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1992.41A-L

Not on View

DescriptionColorless and colored barium potash glass; blown, with multiple cased overlays.

Label TextHarvey Littleton created his largest sculptures, which pay homage to both Czech and Scandinavian techniques, during the 1980s by assembling solid undulating and truncated curves into monumental forms he called Crowns and Sprays. Internal veins of limited colorations created with Kugler color bars are encased in barium potash glass that magnifies and distorts to form complex color effects. “I think that the multiplication of color through the use of four colors in most of my pieces in the ’80s fascinated me a great deal,” Littleton reminisced. The spaces (or voids) are integral to the aesthetic integrity of the work. The geometric purity of Blue/Ruby Spray expresses both Littleton’s technical background in industrial glass and his interest in forming large glass works with dramatic presence.Published References

McMaster, Julie A., The Enduring Legacy: A Pictorial History of the Toledo Museum of Art, Superior Printing, Warren, OH, 2001, repr. (col.) p. 38.

Reich, Paula, Toledo Museum of Art: Map and Guide, London, Scala, 2005, p. 60, repr. (col.).

Page, Jutta-Annette, The Art of Glass: Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, Toledo Museum of Art, 2006, p. 197-198, repr. (col.) p. 198.

Page, Jutta-Annette, "News: the Glass Pavilion of the Toledo Museum of Art," New Glass Review 28, 2007, p. 102.

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 347, repr. (col.).

Reich, Paula, Toledo Museum of Art: Map and Guide, London, Scala, 2009, p. 60, repr. (col.)

Page, Jutta-Annette, Peter Morrin, and Robert Bell, Color Ignited: Glass 1962-2012, Toledo, OH, 2012, p. 63, repr. (col.) p. 64, pl. 33.

Exhibition History

Chicago, Navy Pier, Chicago International New Art Forms Exposition, September 13-16, 1990.

Baltimore, National Museum of Ceramic Art, Personal Visions/Diverse Images, An Exhibition of Recent Sculptural Glass, February 20-June 30, 1991.

Summit, New Jersey Center for Visual Arts, Contemporary Glass Sculpture: Innovative Form and Expression, 1992, ill. (original 10 part piece is illustrated), p. 12.

Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, Color Ignited: Glass 1962-2012, June 14-September 9, 2012.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Harvey K. Littleton: A Retrspective Exhibition, Washington, D. C., Renwick Gallery; New York, American Craft Museum II; Ames, Iowa, Brunnier Gallery and Museum; Atlanta, High Museum of Art, et. al., 1984, p. 78.