Style Century 2009 February

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F E B R U A R Y

2 0 0 9

CENTURY M A G A Z I N E

style

E. Stewart Williams E. Stewart Williams



AS THIS ISSUE was being completed, a momentous event was taking

Washington – the swearing-in of America’s 44th President, Barack

Regardless of which side of the political fence you’re on, there’s n

ing that this transition of power marks a milestone in our nation’s history tha

fully will usher in an era of positive change.

In an economic climate such as the one in which our country now find

any company hoping to prosper during the inevitable rebound must reasslandscape and implement intelligent changes to its product. While our rea

numbers have only continued to grow since our launch in October 2007,

have a much better grasp on how audiences for digital publications think. W

that you are thrilled with the quality of SCM ’s editorial and design. There’s

else out there that even comes close to it. But we feel quite certain that

thing you would prefer going forward is a format in which you can easily acc

read condensed but no-less-interesting versions of our writers’ imaginative,

edge articles. Many of you simply do not have the time to read our issues

cover; you’d rather do what I call “snacking” - reading an online article in its

in five minutes or less.

As a result, we have decided we will no longer publish Style Century M

in the page-turning format to which you’ve become accustomed. Instead, w

forged a marketing alliance with Auction Central News (which can be f

www.auctioncentalnews.com) and will be migrating our content to their sit

still be able to read great articles by our same staff of writers, but they’ll

shorter length. In addition, you’ll be able to stay current on all the latest new

the world of art, antiques, auctions and design. We look forward to a fantasti

at AuctionCentralNews.com and hope you’ll visit us there very soon.

EDITOR | CATHERINE SAUNDERS-WATSON

DUTCH INTERIOR (I) BY JOAN MIRÓ, COURTESY THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEWYORK, DEPARTMENT OF IMAGING SERVICES.. COPYRIGHT 2008 SUCCESSIO MIRÓ /ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), N EW YORK / ADAGP, PARIS.

A CHANGE HAS COMEEDITOR’S

DIARY



IN THIS ISSUEE D I T O R ’ S D I A R Y2 A CHANGE HAS COME

C O N T E N T S RIGHT: W ITCHES ’ B REW , A 2007 SCULPTURE BY DAVID SVENSON, IS COMPOSED OF MOLD-BLOWN GLASS, NEON, KRYPTON AND CONCRETE. COURTESY DAVID SVE

CENTURYM A G A Z I N

style

R E A R V I E W M I R R O RRECENT NOTABLE SALES

J O A N M I R ÓSELF-DESCRIBED

ART ASSASSIN

11

5

F A I R W A R N I N GAUCTIONS ON THE HORIZON8

T I F F I N G O E S M O D E R NEXPLORING THE “MODERN” ERA

OF TIFFIN PRODUCTION

20

P A L M S P R I N G S ’ E T E R N A L A R C H I T E C TAN APPRECIATION OF

E. STEWART WILLIAMS 29

L I G H T U P T H E N I G H TNEON IN ART AND INDUSTRY 36



CO-PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CATHERINE SAUNDERS-WATSON

CO-PUBLISHER & ART DIRECTOR JIM BUNTE

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR TOM HOEPF

A QM4G MEDIA PUBLICATION

PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER JULIAN R. ELLISON

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT JOHN RALSTON

PARTNER CATHERINE SAUNDERS-WATSON

PARTNER JIM BUNTE

1-888-600-QM4G (7644) [email protected]

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES SCOTT MILES

SALES EXECUTIVE PATRICIA CLINE

SALES EXECUTIVE ADAM HARGIS

styleCENTURY M A G A Z I N E

Published by QM4G Media

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Entire contents © 2009 QM4G Media. All rights reserved. Style Century Magazine is a QM4G trademark .

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 9 V O L . 2 , N O . 5

TM

BYLINES CONTRIBUTORS

Karla Klein Albertson began her journalism career with an ey

tiquities, after receiving her master of arts degree in Classical

ology from Bryn Mawr College. For

the past 10 years, she has written

the Antiques column for the Home

and Design section of the Philadel-

phia Inquirer . She contributes regu-

larly to Maine Antique Digest , Early American Life and other t

collector publications. Decades of pop culture have made an impact as well, sparking an

in rock music history, Silver Age comics, martial arts, movie memorabilia and surf, skate an

board culture.

K A R L A K LA L B E R T

Eileen Smith says she was born curious. That trait led her to a career in

journalism, as well as an appreciation of antiques. A graduate of the Per-

ley Isaac Reed School of Journalism at West Virginia University, she has

reported and edited for a number of newspapers, including USA Today .

Her work also has appeared in This

Old House magazine, the Christian

Science Monitor , Elegant Wedding

and more than 50 other publica-

tions. She has won numerous awards and was a finalist for an Inves-

tigative Reporters and Editors Award. She is also a Jeopardy! champion. Eileen lives in Wi

Del., with her husband and cat, Pikachu.

E I L E E N S M I T H



RECENT AUCTION PRICES

CHINESE NATURALIST ROOT WOOD SPECIMEN

ON ROSEWOOD STAND

71” high, 31” wide

Sold for $5,206.25 through LiveAuctioneers.com

DALLAS AUCTION GALLERY

JAN. 14, 2009

R E A R V I E W

M I R R O R

SCOTTISH THISTLE-FORM SILVER VINAIGRETTE

Marked EHS (Edward H. Stockwell)

3rd quarter 19th century

Sold for $4,600 through LiveAuctioneers.com

DIRK SOULIS AUCTIONS

DEC. 28-29, 2008

REARVIEW

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

SILVER AND ENAMEL PAGODA CLOCK

SET WITH GEMS

4th quarter 19th century


DALLAS AUCTION GALLERY

JAN. 14, 2009



REARVIEW

R E A R V I E W

M I R R O R

ENGLISH INLAID BREAKFRONT BY

H. SACKS & SON, SEWALL

82” high, 66” long

Sold for $4,800

through LiveAuctioneers.com

KAMINSKI AUCTIONS

DEC. 27-28, 2008

KPM HAND-PAINTED PLAQUE

AFTER MURILLO

10” by 7¾”


DUMOUCHELLES

JAN. 16-18, 2009

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

BRONZE OF RECUMBENT DOG

By Nikolai Liberich (Russian, 1828-1883)

Signed in Cyrillic on collar

14½” long, 7” high


BRUNK AUCTIONS

JAN. 3, 2009



REARVIEWDAUM NANCY CAMEO

GLASS VASE

Late 19th/early 20th century

3¾” tall


BRUNK AUCTIONS

JAN. 3, 2009

R E A R V I E W

M I R R O R

BRONZE CLASSICAL FIGURE OF MAN

ON WOOD/MARBLE STAND

By Wilhelm Kumm (German, 1861-?)



CLARS AUCTION GALLERY

JAN. 11, 2009

J.C. BROWN BEEHIVE 8-DAY CLOCK

IN MAHOGANY CASE

Circa 1848, 18¾” high


TOM HARRIS AUCTIONS

JAN. 10, 2009

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

ANTIQUE BRONZE BUDDHA

Painted cast bronze with gilt

Late 19th/early 20th century


Sold for $19,262.50

through LiveAuctioneers.com

DIRK SOULIS AUCTIONS

DEC. 28-29, 2008



F A I R W A R N I N G

“NUDE”

SIGNED, CIRCA 1908-1912,

OIL ON CANVASBOARD

14” BY 10¾”

ESTIMATE $80,000-$100,000

JOHN MORAN AUCTIONEERSFEB. 17, 2009

VIEW LOT

PAINTED-WOOD FACE MASK

EGYPTIAN 26TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 664-525 B.C.

10¼” LONG, 8½” WIDE, 5” THICK

ESTIMATE $6,000-$8,500

MALTER GALLERIESFEB. 15, 2009

VIEW LOT

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE




EDWARD H. BOHLINDIAMOND CLUSTER SUPREME SADDLE

ESTIMATE $70,000-$90,000

HIGH NOON WESTERN AMERICANAFEB. 7, 2009

PAIR OF LOUIS XVI-STYLE GILT BRONZE CHANDELIERSWITH FIGURES OF PUTTI

28½” LONG, 23 INCHES WIDE

ESTIMATE $8,000-$12,000

NEAL AUCTION CO.FEB. 8, 2009

VIEW LOT

VIEW LOT

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE




“COUNTRY HOUSE”

BY WILLIAM VINCENT KIRKPATRICK (1939-

2004)

CIRCA 1980-1990

ACRYLIC ON BELGIAN LINEN

16” BY 20”

ESTIMATE $1,500-$2,000

BATERBY’S ART AUCTION GALLERYFEB. 7, 2009

ANTIQUE TRADE SIGN FOR OPTOMETRIST

FULLY ILLUMINATES

ESTIMATE $8,000-$12,000

MORPHY AUCTIONSMARCH 5-7, 2009

VIEW LOT

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

VIEW LOT

1848 PAINTED PINE TRINKET BOX

MADE BY JONAS WEBER (LANCASTER COUNTY, PA., 1810-1876),

5¾” HIGH, 10¼” WIDE

ESTIMATE $35,000-$55,000

POOK & POOKFEB. 6, 2008

VIEW LOT



JOANMIR

S E L F - D E S C R

A R T A S S A



M I R Ó

THE 1918 WARTIME tune How ’Ya Gonna Keep ’Em Down on the Farm (After They’ve

Seen Paree) was all about U.S. doughboys returning home from Europe, but it might

well have applied to Spanish artist Joan Miró – minus the gaiety.

Born on April 20,1893 in Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, Spain, Miró studied art at a

local academy. His ties to his native land and to the family farm at Montroig, a rural coastal vil-

lage, became a source of inspiration.

In 1918, Miró and a few young artists founded Agrupació

Courbet, a group opposed to the conservative traditions in Catalan

art. His large painting titled Standing Nude , done in 1918 inBarcelona, showed strong influences of Fauvism and Cubism. In the

summer of 1918, however, Miró began painting only landscapes in and around Montroig.

The Vegetable Garden with Donkey and The Wagon Tracks , both 1918 works, show the

painstaking exactness of his so-called detailistic phase. The Farm, 58 3/4 inches by 52 3/4

inches, done in 1921-22, in which Miró chronicled minute details, has been described as the

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

MIRÓ’S PICTURES BECOME INCREASINGLYABSTRACT, AND HIS FORMS MORE ORGANIC

| TOM HOEPF

RIGHT:Portrait of a Dancer , 1928, was once described as “the barest picture imaginable.” The austere work consists of a

feather, cork and hatpin on a painted wood panel, 39 3/8 inches by 31 1/2 inches. PREVIOUS PAGE: Miró’s series of paint-

ings on unprimed canvas left broad areas of exposed surface as part of the composition of the works. Un Oiseau poursuit une abeille et la baisse , 1927, was done in oil, aqueous medium and feathers on canvas, 32 7/8 inches by 40 1/4 inches. Pri-

vate collection. Both images: CNAC/MNAM/Dis. Reunion des Musees Nationaux/Art Resource, NY. Copyright 2008 Suc-

cessio Miro / Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.



highest achievement in his poetic

realism.

In early 1920, Miró visited

Paris for the first time. From that

point on he ordinarily spent thefirst half of every year in Paris and

the rest of the year in Montroig

and Barcelona. In Paris, Miró met

André Breton and other partici-

pants of the Surrealist group in

1924. Miró exhibited in the first

showing of Surrealist art in 1926,

although he did not become a

member of the group.

As the decade progressed, Miró’s pictures become increasing

abstract, and his forms more organic. These paintings are construct

freely with schematic lines and opaque shapes on plain grounds.

these works Miró moved, as he later said, “beyond painting.”

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

LEFT: Dutch Interior (I) is Miró’s rendition of Hendrick Martensz Sorgh’s The Lute Play

Done in 1928, this oil on canvas measures 36 1/8 inches by 28 3/4 inches. The Museu

of Modern Art, New York, Department of Imaging Services. ABOVE: Tar paper outlines subject of Miró’s 1929 work Collage (Head of Georges Auric), which measures 43 5

inches by 29 1/2 inches. Kunsthaus Zurich. Both images: Copyright 2008 Successio M

/ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.



M I R Ó

Described as a deliberate artist

who spent much time on his works,

Miró was highly productive. He began

making it a practice to plan blocks of

work into series of alternating styles.The Museum of Modern Art in

New York examined this practice in a re-

cently concluded exhibition titled Joan

Miró: Painting and Anti-Painting, 1927-

1937. Unlike numerous Miró retrospec-

tives, this exhibition examined his

practices and strategies during a trans-

formational period in which he attacked

the conventions of painting.

Beginning with the notorious claim Miró made in 1927 that he

wanted to “assassinate painting,” the exhibition explored 12 of artist’s

series over the next 10 years.

The exhibition was an in-depth look at a decade’s worth of Miró’s

work, “created during a period of economic and political turmoil, illumi-

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

RIGHT: Painting (Head) is a part of Miró’s Large Paintings on White Grounds series done in

1930. This oil on canvas is 90 5/8 inches by 65 3/16 inches. Credit: Musées de Grenoble.ABOVE: Part painting and part sculpture, this 1931work is titled Object . It consists of oil,

paint and sand on wood stapled to wire mesh, 14 3/16 inches by 10 1/4 inches.

CNAC/MNAM/Dis. Réunion des Musées Nationaux/Art Resource, NY. Both images: Copy-

right 2008 Successio Miró / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.



nating the way his drive to assassinate pai

ing led him to reinvigorate, reinvent and ra

calize his art. The resulting body of work is

times willfully ugly and at others savagely bea

tiful,” said Anne Umland, curator of the Dpartment of Painting and Sculpture at MoMA

Opening with seven raw paintings on u

primed canvas from 1927, the exhibition mov

to Miró’s collage-objects of 1928 collective

known as “the Spanish Dancers.” His Portr

of a Dancer is composed only of a feather

small cork and a hatpin mounted on a larg

field of white.

The next series from 1928-1929 is call

Dutch Interiors and Imaginary Portraits. One

the works is based on a postcard reproducti

of a 17th-century of a lute player – gone ele

tric. In it, Miró rejects the ambition of pa

artists to deceive viewers into believing th

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

The biomorphic forms in Painting 1933 took shape af

Miró created a corresponding collage composed of prin

illustrations. The oblong figure eight extending from the c

ter to the lower right was an airplane propeller in the c

lage. Graydon Wood. Copyright 2008 Successio Mir

Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.



M I R Ó

the painted images they see are real. The series of

large pictures represented the last paintings Miró

would create for about two years, as he moved on to

making assembled objects.

“Often Miró’s art is seen to stand for all that isspontaneous, lyrical or poetic, improvisational within

surrealism,” said Umland. “I think that when you go

back and look at the process you realize that with all

great artists the complexities involved and sort of the

rigor and calculations that went into creating things

that looked anything but preplanned is something that

adds to our complicating the idea of who Miró was

and what his ambitions were.”

Miró planned and created these series as the

U.S. stock market crash of 1929 spread to an economic crisis across Europe.

Miró had enjoyed a measure of success avant-garde circles in Paris, but when

his dealer dropped him, he was forced to return to Barcelona.

“He had to use the room he was born in – as he remarked with some

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

RIGHT: Using conté crayon, postcards and sandpaper on flocked paper, Miró called this 1933-1934

series Drawing Collages. This work measures 42 1/2 inches by 28 3/8 inches. The Museum of Mod-

ern Art, New York. ABOVE: The Pastels on Flocked Paper series reflects Miro’s reaction to political

and civil strife in Spain in October 1934. Woman (The Opera Singer), 42 inches by 28 inches, illus-trates what the artist described as aggressiveness through color. The Museum of Modern Art, New

York, Department of Imaging Services. Both images: Copyright 2008 Successio Miró / Artists Rights

Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris .



irony – as his studio,” said Umland, noting

Miró’s tenuous economic stability during this

period.

It might occur to some that Miró put to-

gether these wildly varying series to seewhat might stick in the art market, but Um-

land dismissed the notion.

“I think he was trying to undo himself

and his talent constantly during these years.

Sort of like, if I can do one thing well, I’m

going to try to do the opposite in the next se-

ries,” said Umland. “There wasn’t a pre-

dictable, marketable, commodifying Miró

style.”

Unlike his contemporary and country-

man Pablo Picasso, Miró was married to one woman his entire life, Pilar Juncos

“There wasn’t constant change in that circumstance,” said Umland. “I do think w

Miró there was always the sense that he needed routine and a firm foundation, as h

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

LEFT: Miró looked upon his series of 15 large pastels on flocked paper he did in October 1934 as import

works. Woman, 42 inches by 28 inches, fits the description as both seductive and repellent. The Metrop

tan Museum of Art, New York. ABOVE: Rope and People I, 41 1/4 inches by 29 3/8 inches, is one of a serfrom 1935-36 that Miró described as a critical self-review. The work is oil on cardboard with a coil of ro

mounted on wood. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Department of Imaging Services. Both Imag

Copyright 2008 Successio Miró / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.



FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

M I R Ó

would say, to leap higher for his art to go further.”With civil war breaking out in Spain in July 1936, Miró

left Barcelona for Paris before the end of October. His wife

and their daughter, Dolores, joined him in December. They

would not return to Spain for four years.

In January 1927, Miró announced his departure from

planning a series and thrust himself into work on a painting

titled Still Life with Old Shoe . Described as an incandescent,

hallucinatory painting, Miró’s masterpiece is often compared

to Picasso’s Guernica , a painting protesting the bombing of

that Basque town. While Miró’s painting is not based on his-

tory, the haunting landscape resonates with the impending doom associated with World War II.

Hoping to avoid the threat of war, Miró moved to the village of Varengeville on the coast of Normandy. When the Nazis bombed Normandy

May 1940, Miró and his family fled to Barcelona and Montroig. He took with him the first 10 gouaches collectively known as “the Constellations,” wh

represents the height his creativity. He completed the series of 23 paintings in Spain.

Miró’s Constellations were among the first works of art coming out of Europe at the close of the war and influenced a generation of Americ

painters known as Abstract Expressionists.

After the war Miró directed his creative talents toward sculpture, ceramics and printmaking. He became involved with many public commissio

and projects, including large murals and sculptures.

Miró chose an old technique of painting on copper to create The Two Phi loso-

phers , which was a test of his technical virtuosity. It is one of a series of 12

small-format paintings on either Masonite or copper. The Art Institute of

Chicago. Copyright 2008 Successio Miro / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New

York / ADAGP, Paris.



M I R Ó

Having moved to Palma de Mallorca in Spain in 1956, Miró chr

tened his new studio in 1961 by painting three large paintings: Bl

I , Blue II and Blue III . The group represents a compression of Miró

serial approach to making art.

Late in life Miró worked on a series of paintings that were fre

and done with less planning than anything he had ever done befor

Miró died at age 90 on Dec. 25, 1983.

Celebrating the centenary of the artist’s birth, the Museum

Modern Art mounted a retrospective that attempted to reveal Miró

full range as an artist. The scope of MoMA’s recent Miró exhibition

cused on only 10 years of his formative career, but Umland believes

was no less forceful.

“What it did reveal was the radical range of Miró’s experimentation … such variety in themes, of materials used, types of iconography (and) t

relation of the politics to economic times,” said Umland. “Looking at Miró’s work with hallucinatory color, and then with the most stripped-down so

of bare abstract language imaginable; of works of great refined delicacy in contrast to those that were far more brute, I think that it’s that sore of co

stant pushing and undoing of his own talent, reinventing and risk-taking that was made evident in a way that hasn’t been done previously.”

Indicating he intended to “push this painting to the limit,” Miró worked steadily on S

Life with Old Shoe for four months in 1937. The Museum of Modern Art, New York,

partment of Imaging Services. Copyright 2008 Successio Miró / Artists Rights Soci

(ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.

DOMORESearch LiveAuctioneers.com for Joan Miró Buy Joan Miró: Painting and Anti-Painting 1927-1937 from MoMAstore.org



goes MODERN



T I F F I N G

L A S S

AMERICAN GLASS companies were still producing what collectors

now call Depression glass, when United States Glass Co. in

Tiffin, Ohio, introduced bold new lines to satisfy the changing

tastes of modern society.

The exceptional quality of glass produced at Tiffin kept it profitable as

other factories of the parent U.S. Glass Co.,

founded in 1892, were forced to close. With the

closings of most of its factories, U.S. Glass Co.

moved its headquarters from Pittsburgh to Tiffin in

1938.

It began an era of glassmaking in Tiffin marked by continued fine quality,

brilliant colors and innovative designs. The most intriguing of these are loosely

called Tiffin’s Modern lines.

Making the move to this rural community in northwest Ohio was president

‘MODERN’ HAS BECOME THE

MOST POPULAR FORM OF TIFFIN

GLASS AMONG COLLECTORS

| TOM HOEPF

| THE AUTHOR

RIGHT: The horizontal bands on this 9-inch vase from the early 1950s is a feature known as Tiffin Optic. It’s

supported by a Manzoni foot. PREVIOUS PAGE: Emerald Green was produced only in 1959 for the Empress

line. Among the many hand-fashioned Empress forms was this 10-inch ashtray.

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE



Charles W. Carlson, an attorney and businessman. Determined to change t

company’s course, Carlson introduced Swedish Modern, an interpretation

the simple, elegant forms that had earned Scandinavian glassmakers intern

tional acclaim.

“He was really a great fan of the Swedish glass and that modern loo

said Ruth Hemminger, president of the Tiffin Glass Collectors Club. “That’s wh

Swedish glass was; they were known for very clear crystal.”

To ensure Tiffin’s Swedish Modern was superior-grade glass, Carlson

sisted on strict quality control, including the use of optical grade silica.

“They used a lot of lead in their glass. They used good raw materials. T

quality is there, no question about it,” said Hemminger. “Many departme

stores carried it for that reason. It was good glass and it sold well. People th

were discriminating bought it and were happy with it.”

Carlson actually recruited glassmakers from Sweden to join Tiffin’s wo

force.

“They helped teach the Tiffin workers how to make this glass. They we

influential and helpful as far as design and new techniques,” said Hemminge

The blown and handworked glass was immediately successful. Ke

O’Kane in his book Tiffin Glassmasters: The Modern Years noted that by 194

U.S. Glass Co. stock was worth $30 a share. It had been worth 30 cents a sha

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

Citron Green was produced in the mid-1960s. This 17423 6-inch compote features the Tiffin Optic

the bowl and the Cellini stem.



T I F F I N G

L A S S

when Carlson took charge.

Complementing the bold crystal designs were Tiffin’s decora-

tors, who often added engraving, etching and enameling. The book

Tiffin Modern: Mid-Century Art Glass by Hemminger, Ed Goshe and

Leslie Piña lists more than 30 glasscutters employed by the com-

pany, though much of their work was done on traditional crystal

stemware.

Throughout the 1940s Tiffin’s Sand Carved decoration was ap-

plied to vases and bowls using a sandblasting machine. Sand Carved

decorations are most often floral themes, but dancers, nudes, a peas-

ant girl and a wild goose can also be found.

Gold encrusted floral designs were also applied to Tiffin’s Modern

forms in the 1940s. These designs were most often applied to the colors

Crystal, Copen Blue (light blue) and Killarney (deep green).

Tiffin Glass has been highly regarded for its colors. The palette in the

1940s also included Amber, Cobalt Blue and Wistaria (pale pink to deep rose). Tif-

fin’s most famous color, Twilight (lavender), was introduced in 1951 and remained in

production until the company closed 29 years later. Under florescent lighting the color

of Twilight changes to a pale blue.

Colors introduced in the 1950s and ’60s included Smoke, Pine (light green), Sapphire

Blue, Citron Green, Desert Red, Golden Banana, Greenbrier and Wild Rose (pink).

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

Tiffin’s pine color had a slight yellow cast and was in limited production from about 1952-1956. This Bubble Optic vase has

a Manzoni foot.



Hemminger said that Tiffin and Heisey produced glass in some of t

same colors, but side-by-side comparisons show that Tiffin’s colors are mo

vibrant. “If you put them together you can see that Heisey is more sub

and lighter in color. Tiffin is kind of bouncy. It just has darker, deeper co

ors.”

Tiffin Modern glassmakers regularly made use of optics, handwo

techniques to shape the glass, creating striking optical effects. Perhaps t

most prominent was Swedish Optic, renamed Tiffin Optic in July 1946 to d

note it was made in America. This optic appears as wide horizontal bands

the sides of vases and bowls.

Other popular optics utilized by Tiffin glassmakers included 10-Rib Optic,

Rib Optic and Pinwheel Optic.

Developed at Tiffin, 10-Rib Optic was widely used from 1940 through t

1970s. Use of a spinner mold created 10 curved ridges on vases, bowls and as

trays.

With 5-Rib Optic, introduced circa 1952, five lobes of glass were molded into t

base of objects.

A spinner mold also produced the Pinwheel Optic effect.

Many Tiffin Modern pieces are often recognizable for their distinctive hand-fas

ioned, applied feet. The Cellini line, in production from 1947 to the mid-1950s, featured

delicate openwork stem that required the expertise of the most skilled craftsmen to for

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE T I F F I N G

L A S S

Tiffin’s popular Twilight color was paired with Smoke in this Empress line Flower Arranger, which is 8 inches hig



T I F F I N G

L A S S

Likewise, the Manzoni Foot was a handworked base ap-

plied to the bottom of a blown bowl. A tool similar to nee-

dle-nose pliers was used to shape four curled feet from a

gather of glass. The most commonly found base on Tiffin

Modern pieces is the 17430 Foot, which was shaped with

a wooden tool similar to a ruler. The result was an applied

base with four V-shaped feet.

Tiffin’s crowning achievement in hand-fashioned

glass was Empress, a bold line of large two-color cased

glass accent pieces introduced in 1959. The collection con-

sisted of 75 forms, wildly shaped vases, centerpieces,

flower arrangers, jugs and ashtrays. Color combinations

were Ruby and Crystal, Emerald Green and Crystal, Smoke

and Crystal, Sapphire Blue and Crystal, Twilight and Smoke

and Twilight and Green.

The largest Empress vase, 6592, is 28 inches high.

Another Empress form known as Aladdin’s Lamp, 6617, is

22 inches in length.

Empress was a huge success from the start. For rea-

sons unknown, however, Tiffin discontinued the Twilight

and Green combination by the end of 1959. The brief pro-

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

Tiffin produced a line of cased glassware named Mica in the early 1950s.

Like most of Tiffin’s Mica pieces, this 12 1/2-inch pitcher is in the Pine color.



duction run makes that combination especially desirable to Tiffin

collectors.

Also popular with collectors are pieces from Tiffin’s mid-

1950s Ribbon line, which features a ribbon of colored glass spiral-

ing around a ribbed object made of Crystal. Of the six colors used,

Green Fantasy is most often found.

Discovered much less often are pieces from Tiffin’s Mica and

Craquelle (Crackle) Glass lines, which were produced in limited numbers

in the 1950s. Also scarce and highly coveted are 1940s vases and rose

bowls in Cobalt Blue with so-called “Opal Loops.”

Modern ware became a major part of Tiffin’s output in the 1950s and

’60s, said Hemminger.

“They were still doing stemware, but stemware use started to decline

in the 1950s. That’s when other types of glass took over, and Tiffin wisely

stayed with Modern because it was selling. It carried them over when other

companies went out of business,” said Hemminger, noting the closings of

A.H. Heisey & Co. and Cambridge Glass Co. in the 1950s.

Interference from USGC stockholders prompted Carlson to step

down as president and led to bankruptcy in 1962. The factory closed

for several months but reopened in 1963 as the Tiffin Art Glass Co.

T I F F I N G

L A S S

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

LEFT: No alcoholic drink epitomized the modern l ifestyle of the 1950s and ’60s like themartini. Tiffin made several sizes of Martini Jugs, this one in smoke with Tiffin Optic.

RIGHT: The 6558 vase stands 19 inches tall. One of the many pieces in the Empress line,

this vase features 10 Rib Optic and Sapphire Blue and Crystal.



C.W. Carlson Jr. and three employees purchased the compan

Several changes in ownership took place before produ

tion finally shut down in 1980.

Tiffin Modern has become the most popular form of T

fin Glass among collectors, surpassing its satin glass of t

1920s.

Generally, Tiffin Modern pieces in colored glass are

higher demand than those in all Crystal.

“Some colors aren’t so great, like Greenbrier and som

of those colors that had their time in the ’60s,” said He

minger. “Tiffin’s basic colors – Twilight, Wistaria, Copen Blue

are what people are looking for most.”

Tiffin had sales offices in London, Sydney and New Yo

and shipped its glassware worldwide. It can be found virtua

almost anywhere.

Usually unmarked except for a shield-shape foil label, T

fin Glass is most often recognized by its shapes and color

The Modern lines are distinctive.

Nevertheless, similar wares by competitors can cau

confusion, said Hemminger.

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

Crafting Tiffin’s Ribbon line of the mid-1950s entailed applying a colored ribbof glass to the outside of a vase or bowl, reinserting the object into the m

and pressing the ribbon into the molded ribs. This 8-inch vase is in Green F

tasy, the most common Ribbon color.



“New Martinsville, when they became

Viking Glass (1944), was making some similar

shapes. Blenko was doing some (Modern)

things but theirs were taller vases, heavy and

the colors were different,” said Hemminger.

Today foreign glassmakers are producing

colors similar to Tiffin’s Twilight and Wistaria,

but the shapes are different. Hemminger said

that these items are sometimes misrepre-

sented as Tiffin.

“Most of the things Tiffin did

had line numbers and docu-

mentation. Now and again

there would be something

(unique) they would do for

trade show that didn’t sell and

could be out there,” said Hemminger.

Prices of Tiffin Modern range from

about $40 for vases and bowls made en-

tirely of Crystal to $200-$300 for large

pieces in popular colors and styles.

“Some of the things that we now know

how rare they are, like the Mica and Opal

Loops, are selling for far more than what we

have listed in our book,” said Hemminger.

Visitors to the Tiffin Glass Museum are

often amazed by what the local glassmaker

produced, said Hemminger.

“We see people come in who collect

Fostoria and some of the other companies.

They’re loyal to what they’ve collected, but

they often say, ‘We could get into Tiffin Glass

really easily.’”

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE T I F F I N G

L A S S

The 6553 Flower Basket in Ruby and Crystal was one of the

most popular pieces from the Empress line. This basket has anengraved monogram “H” on one side.

DOMORESearch LiveAuctioneers.com for Tiffin

Buy Tiffin Modern: Mid-Century Art Glass from Amazon



AN APPRECIATION OF E. STEWART WILLIAMSAN APPRECIATION OF E. STEWART WILLIAMS



W I L L I A M S

BORN 100 years ago, E. Stewart Williams was a har-

binger of hip. The architect was born and raised in

the Midwest but became inexorably linked with

Palm Springs, Calif., where his cool, modernist de-

signs became the toast of mid-century style. Among his iconic

visions are homes which pioneered open floor plans, a rela-

tionship with the outdoors and intimate socializing.

“They are party houses,

built for entertaining,” said

Michael Stern, curator of the

Palm Springs Art Museum and

a friend of Williams, who died in 2005 at age 95.

Stewart was only 38 in May, 1947, when ascendant

crooner Frank Sinatra sauntered into his office. Fresh from film-

ing On the Town, Sinatra wore a jaunty sailor’s cap. Between

slurps from a ice cream cone, he asked the architect to build

“HE BROUGHT NATURAL

MATERIALS TO MODERNISM”

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

E. Stewart Williams. Photo courtesy of Michael Stern.

| EILEEN SMITH



him a Georgian-style mansion—in t ime for a New Year’s Eve bash.

Williams presented Sinatra with two sets of drawings, one for the Georgian-sty

home and another for a long, low four-bedroom house in which every room has a vie

of a large swimming pool shaped like a piano.

Happily, the singer chose the modernist house, vacationing there first with his w

Nancy and three children, and later with his second wife, actress Ava Gardner. Sinatra a

Gardner left behind a reminder of their tempestuous relationship, a crack in the bathroo

sink made when Sinatra broke a bottle of whiskey on the porcelain during an argumen

Sinatra installed a two-story flagpole on the property, hoisting the Jolly Roger

signal the cocktail hour. As the sun began to set, a pergola over the patio cast shadow

on the pool that mimicked piano keys.

“Stew always said the piano was never his intention, although it certainly looks li

it,” Stern said.

More residential commissions followed as Palm Springs became a haven for t

hip—and for contemporary architects, including Don Wexler, Albert Frey and John Port

Clark, Williams’ closest friend.

Perhaps his finest residential project is the gracious and graceful home he built

1954 for Seattle hoteliers William and Marjorie Edris, recently designated a historic bui

ing by the Palm Springs City Council. The Edris house is lean and spare, in keeping w

its stark desert surroundings.

“There is not a wasted movement in that house,” Stern said. “Everything flows li

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

The interior of the Edris house, built for Stewart’s longtime clients, reflects its contemporary vibe and integ

tion of wood as a design element. Photo Courtesy of Michael Stern.



the perfect puzzle, each piece fitting together.”

He designed his own home in 1956, in a northern e

clave of Palm Springs where most of the neighbors we

other modernist architects. Mostly wood and glass, t

house was pure Williams, with a wide, V-shape roof th

created shade for outdoor living and a garden that ca

caded into the living room.

“It was a smaller house, beautifully situated, faci

the mountains,” said Sidney Williams, assistant curator

the Palm Springs Art Museum and wife of the architec

son, Erik. “Stew was incredibly sensitive to the outdoor

Williams’ clean, lean designs were naturalistic, int

grating redwood and rock.

“He brought natural materials to modernism,” sa

Peter Moruzzi, an architectural historian and founder of t

Palm Springs Modern Committee. “He built for the dese

with deep overhangs to shade the house from the sun.

Wood might have not been the first choice for hom

in the desert, where trees are scarce. Williams’ inspirati

sprang from the austere cathedrals of Scandinavia, whe

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

The exterior of the Edris house is clad in wood and stone, with deep rooverhangs to cool the house beneath the desert sun. Photo courtesy

J.R. Roberts.



he studied as a young architect.

“Those churches are all about wood—a

he loved them,” Stern said.

The architect’s Scandinavian sensibiliti

are reflected in the Mountain Station of the Pa

Springs Aerial Tramway. Instead of the dese

sand, the landscape is dusted with snow. T

wood and stone of the exterior mirror the pin

and boulders surrounding the site.

In 1976, Williams designed the Pa

Springs Art Museum, which the architect int

grated the structure into a mountain, conjuri

the image of the mouth of a pyramid.

“The rocks on the mountain have a beau

ful patina they’ve acquired over the millenni

Sidney Williams noted. “Inside, the galleries a

incredibly friendly to people.”

By them, Palm Spring was evolving from

retreat into a full-fledged city. Building codes p

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

E. Stewart Williams designed the iconic Palm Springs Art M

seum in harmony with the mountain behind it. An illumina

fountain adds to the drama of the museum at night. Phcourtesy of the Palm Springs Art Museum.



W I L L I A M S

hibited structures more than 35 feet in height. Williams’ cre-

ative solution was to place the museum’s outdoor sculpture

gardens and theater below grade.

Twenty years later, Williams came out of retirement to

draw plans for a third-story addition to the museum. He was

86.

“It was absolutely seamless,” Stern says, “like every-

thing Stew designed.”

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

This cathedral in Nor way, constructed from indigenous woods in the Scandi-

navian forests, was a major influence in Williams’ work. Photo Courtesy of

Michael Stern.

CALLING ALL SWINGERS:

Twin Palms, the 4,500-square-foot home designed by E. Stewart Williams

for Frank Sinatra, is located in the “Movie Colony” area of Palm Springs.

At one time, Sinatra’s celebrity neighbors included Cary Grant, Jack Benny

and Al Jolson.

If Twin Palms looks familiar to you, maybe it’s because the ultra-hip desert

retreat was featured in an episode of AMC’s Golden Globe-winning series

Mad Men. The 4-bedroom, 7-bath mid-century estate is, in fact, a luxury

rental property available for $2,600 a night, with a 3-night minimum. For

additional information, visit this Web site:

www.beaumondevillas.com/california/palm-springs/twin-palms/



EMERSON STEWART WILLIAMS was born in 1909, an era dominated by ornate Victorian a

chitecture. Before he reached his 40th birthday, he would design buildings that we

sleek and pared down to their essence, as spare as the desert from which they spran

“I got to know him late in life, when he was well into his 90s,” recalled Michael Stern, c

rator of the Palm Springs Art Museum, who has written widely on the modernist moveme

“He was a real sophisticate, Ivy League educated, from a very prosperous family.”

After graduating from Cornell, Williams toured Scandinavia for six months. He fell in lo

with both the clean-lined, nature-oriented architecture and a young Swedish woman, Mari, w

became his wife of 60 years.

His father, Harry Williams, was also a distinguished architect. In their native Dayton, Oh

the elder Williams designed a house for the Wright brothers and the headquarters for Nation

Cash Register Company.

In 1934, the wife of the comptroller of NCR invested in a commercial development

Palm Springs, where she enjojyed her winter vacations. She brought in Harry Williams to d

sign the historic La Plaza Shopping Center. He stayed on and was soon joined by his son

Stew and his younger brother, Roger, in the firm Williams, Williams & Williams.

Throughout a long and productive career, Williams created stunning, sophisticated hom

for the social luminaries of Palm Springs, as well as buildings enjoyed by the man on the stree

including the Oasis office building, Santa Fe Savings & Loan, Mountaintop Station of the Pa

Springs Aerial Tramway, and the entire campus of Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa, California.

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

B L U E P R I N T O F A N A R C H I T E C

P H O T O C O U R T E S Y O F M I C

H A E L S T E R N .

Light up the NightLight up the Night



Light up the Night Light up the Night

The Museum of Neon Art - currently looking

for a new permanent home in Los Angeles -

preserves classic signs of the past and or-

ganizes exhibitions by contemporary artists.

Courtesy Museum of Neon Art, Los Angeles,

image by Tom Zimmerman.



N E O N

THE PROCESS IS simple science; the ultimate effect is magi-

cal. In the hands of craftsmen, neon can be formed into

classic signs that lure customers like beacons in the night.

In the hands of artists, tubing filled with neon and other

gases becomes a glowing medium of expression for contemporary

creativity.

Whether the goal is art or advertising, neon bending requires anunderstanding of science and technique from the outset. The best way

to understand the pro-

cedure is to talk with

someone who works

with the gas-filled

glass. David Hutson runs Neon Time in St. Charles, Mo., where he

makes new signs to order and restores classic works in need of repair.

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

“THE TECHNIQUE OF NEON

HAS NOT CHANGED IN

OVER 100 YEARS”

| KARLA KLEIN ALBERTSON

A masterpiece in cool white fluorescent light, “monument” for V. Tatlin by Dan Flavin

(1933-1996), was executed in 1969, one of a planned edition of five. It sold last year

for more than $1.5 million. Image courtesy Sotheby's.



N E O N

Hutson told Style Century Magazine , “As a teenager, I started collecting

old signs that were coming off of buildings, as a generation of companies

from the 1930s to 1950s went out of business. And I realized I wouldn't be

able to do much with my collection, unless I possessed the glass skills

myself – it would be prohibitive to pay for the restoration. I did begin

as a collector, but after school, I would hang out with glassworkers

from that era who were about to retire. I really admired their crafts-

manship and that hooked me on working with glass. So in college I

took glass blow-

ing. Not many

people today

have the pa-

tience to do it.”

H a v i n g

gained the neces-

sary skills, Hutson

moved on from working on his own signs to taking on outside jobs: “I'm

just so busy. We make neon signs for businesses, and we're involved in a

couple of restorations. We just completed the restoration of an old sign for a

donut shop – it has animated blinking donuts that descend the length of the sign.

RIGHT: Like the best classic neon, the “Red Top Cafe” sign designed by Todd Sanders uses a figural shape and

a visual pun. ABOVE: Vintage garage sign by Todd Sanders. Images courtesy Roadhouse Relics.

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE





N E O N

It's on Route 66 where it passes through

St. Louis, and it was done in conjunction

with a grant from the National Park Serv-

ice.” Neon Time will work on several

more restoration projects of this type in

2009.

The neon bender says he takes

pride in the results. “It's exciting to be

doing this – the big-box stores and name-

brand corporations are taking over Amer-

ica, so Mom and Pop can't always afford

to restore their old sign. With a neon sign,

you get a lot of longevity for your dollar.

They're really not that expensive. To me,

signs used to be part of the architecture,

included in the planning at the beginning.

Now a lot of businesses only last five

years and the sign seems to come last.

You see a lot of ads for budget signs.”

“The technique of neon has not

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

Running Marathon is a 1998 glass sculpture by Cal-ifornia artist David Svenson. Image courtesy David

Svenson.



changed in over 100 years,” said Hut-

son. “There are minor improvements in

equipment, but the basic process is ex-

actly the same. There is no innovation

to be made because it's all done by

hand. It's really a handcraft, it's time con-

suming – that's where the cost comes in.”

As far as the science is concerned, he said,

“Inert gases when ionized all produce a different

color. Neon in a clear tube gives off a reddish-or-

ange glow when ionized. With the red-orange

neon, you can use a tube that is coated with phos-

phorescent powder to produce orange and

pink, but that's the gamut for neon. We also

use argon gas with a little bead of mercury we

introduce into the tube. When that mercury is

vaporized with electricity in an argon tube, it burns a soft blue in a clear tub

From there, the phosphorescent coating produces other colors in an arg

mercury tube, such as white, blue, purple.”

Neon signs first appeared in France around 1910 with credit for their d

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

LEFT: A restored bakery sign, ci rca 1947, features a glowing baker proudly showing off a caABOVE: This vintage version of the classic Big Boy sign once tempted hungry travelers on old Ro

40, east of St. Louis. Images courtesy David Hutson/Neon Time.



velopment going to Georges Claude and his company

Claude Neon. In the 1920s, the firm sold the idea of

neon advertising to a Packard auto dealership in Los An-

geles, where the popularity of big bright signs quickly

caught on. As Hutson indicated above, neon and argon

were the most commonly used of the noble gases for

commercial projects. Krypton, xenon and helium are also

occasionally employed by artists.

In California, glass artist David Svenson also was in-

spired by the classic highway signs he saw as a young

man. “I was always intrigued by the lights around me when

I was growing up close to Route 66,” he recalled. “In col-

lege, I took glass blowing so I had a little of that experi-

ence. But I finally connected with a father and son who did

wholesale neon. I worked with them for about three years.

Many of the tube benders at this time were my dad's age, they came out

World War II.”

Svenson continued, “I'm a neon artist and a glass artist. The glass piec

I make are processed with the gas – they’re sculptures that light up basica

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

LEFT: Five Words in Yellow Neon, a 1965 work by Joseph Kosuth (born 1945), sold last May

Sotheby's Contemporary Art sale for $337,000. Image courtesy Sotheby's. ABOVE: This flow

shop sign, circa 1938, was repaired in the Neon Time workshop and has been returned to its oinal storefront in the St. Louis area. Image courtesy David Hutson/Neon Time.



Manny, Moe and Jack, Pep Boys sign from Southern California. Image courtesy Museum of Neon Art.



N E O N

I'm sculpting with hollow tubes. I do a lot of glowing lizard

forms, reptiles and amphibians – the animals that are indige-

nous around me because I live in the high desert mountains.

I've followed my own path, which doesn't necessarily fit in

with the modern art movement – or any movement. It's my

path and I love it.”

The artist's works have been exhibited at the Museum

of Neon Art in Los Angeles.

Certain artists and sculptors have incorporated neon and

other types of lighting into major artworks. Some of the best

known have produced significant light compositions that have

entered important museum collections and realize substan-

tial prices in contemporary art auctions. Multifaceted artist

Bruce Nauman (born 1961) has been honored with exhibitions

at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Centre Pom-

pidou in Paris, and the Tate Modern in London. His neon sculp-

tures include Human/Need/Desire (1983) and Double Poke in

the Eye II (1985), one of his works at Carolina Nitsch Con-

temporary Art, which represents the artist in New York.

Dan Flavin (1933-1996) was a substantially self-taught

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

Part of America's pop culture legacy, commercial neon signage has inspired

contemporary artists. This photorealistic oil painting of a street sign, Star byRobert Cottingham (born 1935), sold last year at Sotheby's for $169,000. Im-

ages courtesy Sotheby's.



artist, interested in working with industrial materials, who began exploring the pos

bilities of fluorescent lighting in the early 1960s. His installation at Richmond Hall

Houston was the final commission of French-American art collector Dominque de Me

and one of the minimalist sculptor's last works. In May 2008, two limited edition flu

rescent compostions by Flavin brought $445,000 and $1,553,000 at a Sotheby's Co

temporary Art auction in New York.

For designer Todd Sanders of Roadhouse Relics in Austin, Texas, making ne

signs has proved an enjoyable way to make a living. Like anyone interested in neon,

had to learn the trade: “I apprenticed at a neon shop for three years and learned ho

to build signs. But now I'm more of a designer. I design the pieces, paint them an

weather them. My dad, Richard Sanders, actually does the metalwork for me now, a

I have someone else who bends the neon.”

“I have a wide-ranging customer base. Urban lofts have a lot of my pieces. D

namic architecture requires dynamic art. These pieces I've created are considered p

art. I have people who collect my work and put it next to great paintings.”

Sanders also makes signs with a vintage look for businesses. He says, “I ju

shipped one to Brooklyn for Billy Sunday's barbecue restaurant. It looks like it was

years old but it was made last week.”

From the time of its invention, neon advertising has been associated with aut

mobile products, and the Austin artist has established a strong market for his wo

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

David Svenson worked with Preston Singletary, a fellow glass artist of Tlingit descent, and the carvers at Alas

Indian Arts on the Pilchuck Founders Totem, a 2001 work of carved wood and cast glass illuminated by neThe work honors the founders of the Pilchuck Glass School near Seattle, where it stands. Image courte

David Svenson.



FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

N E O N

among classic car buffs. He took his “Speed Shop” sign and other work to the Grand N

tional Roadster Show in Pomona, Calif., at the end of January.

“I don't work on the computer – I design them by sketching the signs. Tha

the human element, they're not perfect,” said Sanders. “These signs really affe

people in a positive way. I'm

drawn like a moth to

great neon signs,

whether I cre-

ate them or I

see a great

old one

that's still

working. There

are survivors from the’50s that are still going strong.”

In an unusual twist, Sanders has produced custom orders for street scenes in Hollywood

films, including signs designed to reflect styles from the past. His Web site, www.roadhouse-

relics.com, has a list of the movies and more information about his work. Look for his signs in

the upcoming film Tree of Life from noted director Terence Malick, also an Austin resident.

LEFT and ABOVE: Roadhouse Relics makes faux vintage sig

for sale to car buffs. This “Speed Shop” sign features a 19

Ford Roadster; the trailer sign evokes the classic era

“canned-ham” caravans. Images courtesy Roadhouse Relic

DOMORESearch LiveAuctioneers.com for neon



MUSEUM OF NEON ART



N E O N

THE MUSEUMOF NEONART, currently located on Fourth Street between Spring

and Main in downtown Los Angeles, shares neon's split personality, look-

ing back to classic signage of the past and forward to artworks of the 21st

century. The mission statement in the institution's own words: “MONA of-

fers an energizing, colorful and engaging experience through changing exhibits of

neon art, glass and kinetic works and a premier collection of historic neon signs.”

The museum's bright website www.neonmona.org offers a delightful inter-

active explanation of “How It Works.” Clicking step-by-step allows the viewer to at-

tach electrode units to glass tubing, fill the empty tube with neon, hook up the

power and pass a current through the gas to see it glow.

One of the most interesting efforts is MONA's role in the LUMENS project –

Living Urban Museum of Electric and Neon Signs – which works to conserve and

restore important neon signs in public settings. The museum states, “To date,

MONA has restored a number of historical neon icons, including two tower signs,two theater marquees, and three rooftop signs. MONA recently helped to restore

a section of the famed Chinatown district neon, with planning underway to relight

the entire district.” A 2008-09 NEA grant will help the institution continue its work.

Since neon is part of every movie and memory of Los Angeles, the Museum

of Neon Art also offers the Neon Cruise, a nighttime narrated bus tour around the

FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE

RIGHT: A kinetic light sculpture by Candice Gawne, Desire (Venus Series #2, 2003), uses rare uranium

glass and noble gases. The artist's work has been featured in exhibitions of contemporary art at the Mu-

seum of Neon Art. PREVIOUS PAGE: Part of the mission of the Museum of Neon Art in Los Angeles isthe preservation of significant local advertising works such as this animated Hofbrau restaurant sign from

Oakland. Images courtesy Museum of Neon Art, Los Angeles.





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