art deco to post modernism - a legacy of british art deco cut glass

fig 1. A pair of "Ariel" decanters with 6 matching glasses, all decorated with "Rhythm" pattern, designed by J Luxton for Stuart & Sons, C1950's

The intention of the exhibition, Art Deco to Post Modernism, was to explore the manufacture and design of cut glass in Britain from the 1920’s to the 1970’s, looking at the designs produced during this period by both the lesser-known and previously unknown designers.

British glass manufacturers had maintained that it was traditional ‘design’ that sold during the 1920’s and 1930’s and had largely ignored the Scandinavian approach where factories generally employed trained in-house designers. There were exceptions to this, such as Keith Murray an architect who freelanced for Stevens & Williams. Clyne Farquharson of John Walsh Walsh and William Wilson at Whitefriars were successful in-house designers and, as such are highly regarded by today’s collectors, along with the work of Keith Murray. These three designers are generally thought of in connection with British glass design between the wars.

fig 2. A heavy, deep cut, vase by Stuart & Sons, C1930's

There is also an awareness of Ludwig Kny and perhaps of Reginald Williams-Thomas, but only a minority will know of J.Cuneen, Freda Coleborn, Deanne Meanley, Doreen Norgrove, R. Pierce, or W. J. Whitworth, to name only a few. Not many will have even heard of some of the major designers who influenced both contemporary and future generations of glass designers, such as David Hammond, John Luxton, Helen Monroe, and Irene Stevens. On the other hand many collectors will know the work of Geoffrey Baxter for Whitefriars, but it is only fairly recently that they have shown interest in his cut glass work.

The most important events to affect British cut glass of the pre-war era were the exhibition ‘Modern Art for the Table’ held at Harrods in 1934 followed by the “Art in Industry” held at the Royal Academy, in 1935. The Harrods Exhibition saw a group of artists invited to submit designs to be produced both in ceramic and in glass. The glass was to be made by Stuart & Sons and artists included Paul Nash, Graham Sutherland, Laura Knight, Eric Ravilious, Gordon Forsyth, Ernest and Dod Procter as well as Stuart’s Chief Designer, Ludwig Kny. Whilst the designs were critically acclaimed the buyers were less enthusiastic, preferring the traditional designs that were tried and tested, and apparently sold well, however the influence of these works is undeniable.

fig 3. Large, heavy, vase designed by Irene Stevens for Webb & Corbett C1952

During the Post-war period British design was in a state of flux, designers looking to the future, manufacturers mainly looking backward and depending on the work of yesteryear. The Government advocated the use of modern design and encouraged, or sponsored, a number of exhibitions, beginning with “Britain Can Make It” in 1946 and culminating in the “Festival of Britain” in 1951.

Whereas nowadays we take for granted simple forms with, or without, restrained decoration, regarding them as the norm, fifty years ago this was certainly not the case. The work of both Scandinavian and Italian glass designers was evolving into a new stylish, simple, organic form, and was also capturing the imagination of the British public. Magazines and papers were praising the Scandinavian wares in particular and it was notable that British manufacturers were complaining about this trend in the pages of such journals as the “Pottery and Glass Trades Gazette” and in “Pottery and Glass”. Although it was observed that North America imported large quantities of foreign glass – of which British glass formed a large part.

fig 2. A heavy, deeply engraved and cut vase decorated with fish surronded by bubbles, Stuart & Sons late 1930's

The complexities of the need to export, combined with a wish to sell in the internal market, along with the need to look forward within the post-war climate of austerity, produced a strange mix of traditional and modern design. British glass companies had entered into the idea of employing fulltime-trained designers, but these talented designers were compromised by their masters who still dared not go down the modern route. Occasionally stylish, restrained work was produced, yet it is evident from contemporary catalogues that the majority of work produced was of the traditional variety.

Eventually tradition won and subsequently the major British glass manufacturers were all to become defunct. Whether or not it was their inability to believe in modern design as the way forward as being the main contributor to this sad situation is a matter for conjecture, but it has certainly proved to be the case in other industries that are no longer with us.

fig 3. Vase designed by W J Wilson and B Fitch, Whitefriars 1954-67

Ironically, now is the time that much of the work of these designers could have been appreciated. The success of a range of wares by John Rocha, introduced by Waterford in the 1990’s; the designs of John Luxton that were reprised in the late 1990’s, bringing him out of retirement to develop the ranges, and the addition of ranges designed by Jasper Conran before the demise of Stuart & Sons; and a range of wares from Edinburgh & Leith, have all proved highly saleable, and seems to make the point admirably, especially since the work either echoes, or is a development of, work from both the 1930’s and the 1950’s. It also serves to illustrate just how far ahead of their time the designs of these periods really were.

Text: Nigel Benson, September 2003