Exploring HMA’s collection of West Virginia-made glass
I’m eavesdropping, a habit I can’t seem to break.
There’s a tour group walking through the Glass Collection at the Huntington Museum of Art on this lovely Tuesday morning. They’re mostly teenagers, and the guide is trying to get them interested, which I know some of them are. She’s explaining the different types of glass on display, from cut glass to hand blown and pressed glass. “You’ve probably seen some stuff like this in your grandma’s house,” she tells them. More like my house, I think.
I’m still in the shadows of a newly opened special exhibit showcasing the studio glass of contemporary artist Joel Philip Myers, who once worked as the director of design at Blenko Glass Company in the 1960s. Finally the tour group makes their way to this exhibit and finishes up their tour. I slip back into the Glass Collection to have one more look around.
Many people would probably tell you that glass is silent. But maybe they just aren’t listening, because it certainly speaks to me. Glass echoes with history, with life, eager to share with you tales of its years spent reflecting the people who’ve admired it, the homes and buildings it has spent time in, and how it came to be in the first place.
I’ve just finished an enlightening conversation with John Farley, senior curator and exhibition designer for the Huntington Museum of Art. We’ve discussed the Joel Philip Myers exhibit, and how you can really see Blenko’s influence; even though many pieces are Myers’ studio glass, it’s hard to deny the similarities to many of Blenko’s commercial pieces. There are rich, vibrant colors and all the glass is clearly hand blown. There’s even a piece that, to me, looks suspiciously like Blenko’s iconic water bottles. Of course, art is always subjective.
It’s a compelling idea for me to think about glass as art. Certainly as a collector my pieces are my art; that is, the beautiful colors and unique designs of my glass collection stand out among the rest of my decor, my own little art museum, and being here, now, among studio glass, reinforces that concept.
After the tour group leaves, it’s quiet now in the Glass Collection, which was first established at the museum in the 1970s, when curators began to really think about and recognize the historical importance of glass to the region, says John. It showcases plenty of West Virginia made glass with significant focus on the Ohio River Valley glass manufacturers. With more than 4,000 pieces in the museum’s entire collection, about a quarter of that is often rotated on display in the cases. I flip through the reference book and discover so many glass factories that I hadn’t heard of before, like the Central Glass Company that was based out of Wheeling, or the J.H. Hobbs, Brockunier and Company, also from Wheeling.
What I find most interesting is, even though there are no pieces of Moon and Star currently on display, I do recognize many patterns. Take Daisy and Button glass for instance. I had no idea it was made by other glass-makers aside from the L.E. Smith Company, and yet, it was produced here in West Virginia by Hobbs, Brockunier and Company. And it was made by this company between 1885 and 1890, meaning this pattern originated around the same time as Moon and Star.
Currently in the Glass Collection are beautiful examples of Daisy and Button, like a hanging novelty boat (something I’d never seen before!) and a covered butter dish—I can picture the tour guide I’d overheard earlier using that particular piece as an example of what could be found at your grandmother’s home. As the name implies, butter dishes were made for, well, butter. Like I’ve said before, probably in each of my previous blogs, glass like that was made to be used.
These particular Daisy and Button pieces—all more than a century old—are colorful, unlike the early days of Moon and Star, which didn’t branch out to its iconic ambers, greens, blues and reds, among other colors, until well into the 20th century. I admitted to John Farley that I’m not a glass expert, true enough, but I do know a thing or two about my favorite glass. And thanks to experiences like this, I’m able to continue my own personal glass education.
In recent years, the museum has broadened the scope of its Glass Collection and started to include other decorative arts that go beyond glass, he tells me, including a case of silver and a display of hand carved wooden spoons. In addition to American and European art glass throughout the exhibit, there are many examples of West Virginia made glass, including pieces from Blenko, the Huntington Glass Company and from Moundsville’s Fostoria Glass on display. The lighting here is bright and crisp, making all the glass truly shine.
“I can’t think of any other artistic discipline that we have made so readily available at all times to our patrons,” says John. “Most of the other galleries shift around and there’s a whole lot of things that we work with and that we represent, but glass is kind of always here in this way.”
That alone makes this collection truly special.
I’m glad I brought my notebook because the words to this blog are beginning to flow and I’m writing them down, even as I walk around and view the glass on display. Even though I’m surrounded by my own glass, my own personal collection, each day, it’s still nice to be around glass. The beautiful colors, regal designs, the history each piece contains—it all speaks to me.
I’m thankful for the Huntington Museum of Art and its permanent collection, thankful that people can walk by this striking glass every day, that it lives on, here. John told me more about the Ohio Valley glasshouses and how the availability of silica in the region, as well as the easily navigable Ohio River, made for an ideal glassmaking environment decades ago. Glass truly once was essential for West Virginia’s economy.
Walking back to the new special exhibit, I feel as though the Joel Philip Myers collection helps to bridge the gap between studio glass and commercial glass; it represents the pathways that were available for glass artists in the 20th century. Even working at Blenko, which continues to produce hand blown glass on a large scale to this day, Myers found the time and inspiration to work in his studio, creating some unique and conceptual glass pieces, and even after leaving that position, he continued to create. Thanks to a 2021 donation of 13 pieces of Myers’ early works to the Huntington Museum of Art, as well as a combination of previous gifts and museum purchases over the years, visitors can experience these pieces and gain a deeper appreciation for this art medium.
“These early works were particularly interesting for us, from a sense of the history of the region, because they represented, really, Joel Myers’ earliest forays into learning how to make glass,” John says. “We’ve really assembled a display that integrates that gift of those 13 with these other pieces that came from a variety of sources and that do represent later years as well.”
My deepest thanks to HMA staff for the special tour, wonderful conversation, and exposure to art. I came away with a deeper appreciation, not only of my own glass as art, but of West Virginia-made glass in general. I hope readers will check out the museum and its collection, especially the Joel Philip Myers special exhibit, which will run until August 27, 2023.
