Design # 5929L in Persian Blue (in the Architectural Series)

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Design # 5929L in Persian Blue (in the Architectural Series)

Designer Wayne Husted

Manufacturer Blenko Glass Company ((1921- present))

Datedesigned: 1959

DimensionsH: 36 in.

MediumMold-blown, cut and polished glass.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LinePurchased with funds from Helen Brooks in memory of Mayme and Rudolph Luedtke.

Object number

2013.5A-B

On View

Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion (2444 Monroe Street), Glass Pavilion Gallery, Cavity

Label TextBright colors dominated glass design for the American home after World War II, echoing the optimistic outlook of the era. The Blenko Glass Company in Milton, West Virginia, produced the Architectural Series—large-scale vessels designed for display in the new open-concept architecture and split-level floor plans. A strictly American phenomenon, they represented a new design aesthetic for glass vessels: as architectural elements, they related to the built environment in which they were placed. In 1955, innovative Blenko designer Wayne Husted expanded on his predecessor Wesley Anderson’s concept of the Terrace Vase (literally meant to be placed on a terrace), designing even bigger forms that challenged the physical capabilities of the Blenko glassblowers. His successor, studio glass pioneer Joel Philip Myers, continued the line during his tenure with even more exaggerated forms. The large vessels became particularly popular in the American South and in California, where both the indoor-outdoor lifestyle and the rambling size of newly-built houses were more conducive to their display.Published Referencescf. Blenko Glass Company, Sales Catalog, 1959, page 13 (ill.)

Damon Crain, "Blenko: Heir Apparent to the American Art Glass Legacy," The National American Glass Club Bulletin, Spring 2007, Issue 207, ill. in turquoise color.

Exhibition Historycf. The Blenko Museum, Studio Sensibilities and Specialty Lines, Seattle, WA, May 2003 to Feb. 2004 (this design in tangerine was exhibited).