In the early 1970s, Harvey K. Littleton (American 1922-2013) made a series of small bent glass sculptures to give to friends. At that time, Littleton was a professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, teaching his students how to create art out of glass. His students ultimately included some of the major figures in American art glass, such as Dale Chihuly, Marvin Lipovsky, and Christopher Ries, among others. Littleton’s work first came to my attention about 10 years ago when I noticed a large curved glass sculpture on eBay – perhaps from one of my favorite sellers – which sold for around $15,000. I figured it would be a good idea to keep an eye out for other pieces by Littleton, and one day on eBay I stumbled across one he had done in the early 70’s for just $99. By then I was aware that it was uncommon to find even a small Littleton glass piece for less than $1k, so I snapped it up.
Harvey K. Littleton 1972 Limited Edition Art Glass Sculpture
Ultimately it sold at auction for $1,200 – somewhat low compared to the historical prices but pretty good considering my purchase price.
This piqued my interest in art glass – I’ve since discovered that there are many hidden gems in thrift shops, estate sales and auctions. Art glass is fairly plentiful – the trick is being able to differentiate the high-quality artist-signed pieces from the mass-produced Crate and Barrel variety.
One artist that I’ve found in relative abundance is named Wes Hunting (see my Ebay and Etsy listings for some examples). While his pieces are quite desirable, his signature is nearly illegible, leading sellers to grossly undervalue them. I’ve learned however that with a bit of patience, it’s usually possible to suss out who made a piece with just a little information. Usually studio artists date their pieces – so I tend to search online auctions for studio glass made that specific year, and often I’m able to find pieces which share the same signature as the mystery vase. It can be a tedious process but there’s nothing better than learning that your $5 rummage sale vase is actually worth $500.
If you are very lucky, you may come across one like the Lino Tagliapietra (Italy 1934-present) Murano vase I just listed on eBay. Tagliapietra is among the top art glass artists in the world (Chihuly, who worked with him in the 1960s, once said he is the greatest). Tagliapietra and Chihuly shared their glass blowing techniques with one another in the late 1960s, and both were able to develop some of the most beautiful art glass ever seen. In the early 1980s, Tagliapietra began moving away from teaching and commercial design work to developing his own art. My vase is from that early studio period. It’s relatively modest by Tagliapietra standards– his more advanced works can sell for $30k-50k.
Lino Tagliapietra Incalmo Vase for Effetre International