AFA 20th Anniversary

20th Anniversary 136 www.afamag.com |  www.incollect.com size, the molten object was cased in clear glass that trapped and froze the bubbles. For Cintra, a much finer crushed glass was used without the chemicals, though the flecks of color create a similar visual motion. Wh i l e Ca r d e r pr e f e r r e d s i nuou s , naturalistic Art Nouveau forms or classically inspired shapes, by the mid-1920s, he bowed to popular demand for Art Deco styles. The results included striking forms such as the high contrast, streamlined Mirror Black and Ivory candlesticks (Fig. 8). The horizontal grooves on the tube of the candlestick focus attention on the straight form. Carder also offered clear versions of his designs. When he became art director of the Corning Architectural Glass Division in 1933 and new designers replaced him at Steuben Glass, Incorporated, clear optical Crystal glass became the signature company style. Decades later, Armstrong would favor Carder’s colorful glass, but he also collected examples of clear Steuben glass for comparison. Armstrong incorporated his collection into the traditional furnishings of his family’s 1920s Colonial Revival summer home on Fishers Island in Long Island Sound. As in his New York apartment (Fig. 3), each object was carefully considered for its relationship to nearby artwork and furnishings as well as the light and landscape outside. For instance, purple Amethyst glass visually interacts with the John James Audubon prints and the color and shapes of the furnishings shown here. In 2003, a fire destroyed the summer house, but thanks to the efforts of the fire department and neighbors, many of the furnishings and collections were rescued. After the fire, Armstrong built a modernist home of glass and steel on the same island site (Fig. 10). He furnished it with mid-century Abstract Expressionist art that, now retired, he was free to collect. Only the Steuben glass and bronze animal sculptures were brought from the earlier house. They were displayed in innovative juxtapositions alongside mid- and late-twentieth-century paintings, sculpture, and ceramics (Fig. 11). The Celeste Blue candlesticks, clear Crystal vase, other Steuben Fig. 7: Green Cluthra vase, ca. 1929–33, acid-stamped “STEUBEN,” Shape 7412, handblown, cased glass (2018.20.18). Fig. 8: Pair of Mirror Black and Ivory pair of candlesticks, ca. 1932, oval silver paper label “STEUBEN,” Shape 7492, handblown, mold-assisted glass (2018.20.35A,B).