Littleton the Worker

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Object Name: 
Sculpture
Title: 
Littleton the Worker
Maker(s): 
Place Made: 
Federal Republic of Germany, Frauenau
Accession Number: 
76.3.32 E
Dimensions: 
Head Only H: 46 cm, W: 18.1 cm; Base H: 7.4 cm
Location: 
On Display
Date: 
1976
Web Description: 
In this portrait of Harvey K. Littleton, one of the founders of the American Studio Glass movement, each head explores a different facet of his personality. Erwin Eisch shows us Littleton as a gentleman, a poet, a teacher, a man of Frauenau (Eisch’s hometown), and a worker. We see him with a headache, as fragile, and we see his spirit. Littleton and Eisch were close friends who influenced each other’s work, and they pioneered the development of blown glass as a material for sculpture.

More Info

Department: 
Postwar and Contemporary
Provenance: 
Kunsthaus Museum, Source
1976-12-09
Category: 
Studio Glass
Color: 
colorless
Technique: 
Mold-blown glass, enameled, assembled
mold-blown glass
enameling
Inscription: 
E. Eisch 76
Signature
: 
at upper neck area
Copyright: 
© Erwin Eisch

Description

Primary Description: 
Sculpture, "Littleton the Worker." Colorless glass, cold painted, applied band of colorless glass across nose and around head, square black base.

Exhibitions (1)

Masters of Studio Glass: Erwin Eisch
Venue(s)
Corning Museum of Glass 2012-03-15 through 2013-02-03
Masters of Studio Glass: Erwin Eisch is a special exhibition of 22 vessels and sculptures by one of the founders of studio glass in Europe, Erwin Eisch (German, b. 1927). The exhibition recognizes Eisch for his achievements in developing glass as a material for artistic expression, and it celebrates the 50th anniversary of the birth of studio glass in the United States. Eisch, a close friend of American Studio Glass founder, Harvey K. Littleton (American, b. 1922), had a profound influence on the development of American, as well as European, studio glass. Objects in the exhibition span 40 years of Eisch’s career in glass from 1964 to 2004. His works are tradition-breaking, and his radical thoughts about art reflect the unorthodox approach to glass that has characterized his work throughout his career. All of the works presented are drawn from the Museum’s collection.

Publications (7)

Erwin Eisch: Wolken waren schon immer mein letzter Halt: Glas und Bilder = Clouds have been my foothold all along: glass and paintings (2012) illustrated, p. 185, back left; BIB# 127637
The Corning Museum of Glass, A Guide to the Collections (2001) (2001) illustrated, p. 173; BIB# 68214
Sources of Inspiration (1998) p. 50; BIB# AI41266
Erwin Eisch (1982-10) p. 22; BIB# AI6757
The Corning Museum of Glass Annual Report 1976 (1977) illustrated, pp. 2, 4; BIB# AI97146
Moderne Glas aus Amerika, Europe and Japan (1976) illustrated, pp. 60-61; BIB# 28064
Reflections in Glass, Water and Wine section E, pp. 29, 36; BIB# AI42840

Objects in Set (8)

Eight Heads of Harvey Littleton
Artist:Eisch, Erwin
Date:1976
Accession Number:76.3.32
Littleton the Gentleman
Artist:Eisch, Erwin
Date:1976
Accession Number:76.3.32 A
 
Littleton the Poet
Artist:Eisch, Erwin
Date:1976
Accession Number:76.3.32 B
Littleton the Teacher
Artist:Eisch, Erwin
Date:1976
Accession Number:76.3.32 C
 
Littleton, Man of Frauenau
Artist:Eisch, Erwin
Date:1976
Accession Number:76.3.32 D
Littleton's Headache
Artist:Eisch, Erwin
Date:1976
Accession Number:76.3.32 F
 
Littleton the Fragile
Artist:Eisch, Erwin
Date:1976
Accession Number:76.3.32 G
Littleton's Spirit
Artist:Eisch, Erwin
Date:1976
Accession Number:76.3.32 H