Frances Glessner, crafter of jewelry

Gold and black opal necklace made by Frances Glessner

Collection of the Chicago History Museum

Photo by John A. Faier for the Driehaus Museum

On February 14, 2015, the Driehaus Museum, 40 E. Erie Street, Chicago, opened its newest exhibit entitled “Maker & Muse: Women and Early Twentieth Century Art Jewelry.”  The exhibition features more than 250 pieces of jewelry, about half from the personal collection of Richard H. Driehaus, and the remainder from museums and private collections around the country.  These artistic pieces are grouped into five categories exploring the Arts and Crafts movement in Britain, Art Nouveau in France, Jugendstil in Germany and Austria, Louis Comfort Tiffany in New York, and American Arts and Crafts in Chicago.  The exhibit will continue through January 3, 2016.  For more information, visit http://www.driehausmuseum.org/exhibitions/view/maker_muse. 

Gold and yellow stone necklace made by Frances Glessner

Collection of the Chicago History Museum

Of particular interest are three pieces handcrafted by Frances Glessner, who began taking lessons in metalwork in December 1904, actively continuing her hobby for at least a decade.  Glessner House Museum has three examples of her silver work on permanent display in the dining room silver closet (see blog article dated December 30, 2013), but no examples of her jewelry, so this is an rare opportunity to see these exquisitely crafted objects.  The pieces, two necklaces (shown above) and a hatpin (not shown), are from the collection of the Chicago History Museum, which received them as gifts from the Glessners’ granddaughter, Martha Lee Batchelder, in the 1970s and 1980s.

Madeline Yale Wynne

Frances Glessner honed her skills under the guidance of three talented metalworkers.  The first of these, Madeline Yale Wynne, was prominent in Chicago society and the craft community.  Just one year older than Mrs. Glessner, Wynne had arrived in Chicago in the 1880s, taking up residence with her brother on the north side “Gold Coast.”  Mrs. Glessner met with Wynne in the spring of 1904 to have set stones for her and during the next several months purchased a silver chain, a pin, and an amethyst necklace from her as gifts for various family members.  In late October 1904, Frances Glessner noted in her journal, “I went . . . to call on Mrs. Wynne to arrange to take lessons in metal work.”  She took her first lesson on December 3^rd, and made an elegant salt cellar in time to present to her husband that Christmas.  (The piece is on display in the dining room.  For further information on Madeline Yale Wynne, see the blog article dated August 29, 2011).

Necklace by Annibale Fogliata for Frances Glessner

Private collection

Frances Glessner’s second teacher was Annibale Fogliata, a native of Milan, Italy, who came from London to Chicago in 1904 to teach metalworking at Hull-House.  As was the case with Wynne, Mrs. Glessner appears to have been a customer of Fogliata for some months before beginning lessons with him.  In January 1905, just a few weeks after the death of symphony conductor Theodore Thomas, Mrs. Glessner noted in her journal, “I sent Fogliata’s beautiful silver and brass picture frame to Mrs. Thomas.”  In March, she gave her daughter a gold pendant made by Fogliata as a birthday gift, and by May, he was crafting metal trays for her to present to her niece as a wedding gift.  In November, 1905, she noted that she was taking lessons with Fogliata:

“Wednesday Fogliata came back and I had my silver lesson.  He was overjoyed to get back.  We put the bands on the two gavels I have had made for the two beekeeper’s associations, from the wood from Rev. L. L. Lanstroth’s garden in Oxford, Ohio.”

Frances Glessner at her work bench in the basement
of her home at 1800 South Prairie Avenue, Chicago

Exactly how long she continued her lessons is not known, but she remained a customer of Fogliata as late as May 1907, by which time he had moved to New York.  He continued working in metal, the 1930 census listing him as an engraver in the steel industry.

Necklace of gold and amethyst made by Frances Glessner
Private collection

Frances Glessner’s third and final teacher was Fredrik W. Sandberg, who will be the subject of an article on March 2, 2015.

The Driehaus Museum and Samuel M. Nickerson Lecture Series

Zaire centerpiece bowl. Raymond Ruys, designer; Delheid Frères, manufacturer, 1930. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City. Featured in Jason T. Busch's lecture “Inventing the Modern World: Decorative Arts at the World’s Fairs 1851-1939” on September 19, 2013.

The Richard H. Driehaus Museum, located steps away from Chicago’s Magnificent Mile at 40 East Erie Street, offers visitors a fascinating view of the Samuel M. Nickerson Mansion, one of the few remaining examples of homes erected by the wealthy of America’s Gilded Age.  Designed in 1883 by Burling & Whitehouse, the house features lavish interiors complemented by stunning examples of period furniture, decorative arts, and stained glass, including a magnificent selection of works by Tiffany Studios selected from the Driehaus Collection.

This is a repost of an article originally published on the Driehaus Museum blog on February 25, 2013 discussing their annual Samuel M. Nickerson Lecture Series.

Named for the man who commissioned the historic mansion the Driehaus Museum lives in today, the Samuel M. Nickerson Lecture Series is one of our most popular programs. Every year, we bring in five speakers who are experts and scholars on topics as wide-ranging as the Newport mansions, Edith Wharton, and the development of taste specific to America’s Gilded Age (to name a few from 2012).

The Driehaus Museum’s own Anna Wolff, Administrative and Programs Assistant, spends hours reading scholarly books on the decorative arts, searching other museum exhibitions, and watching YouTube videos to pull together a blockbuster slate of speakers each year. For this blog, she talked about the history and ongoing inspiration for the series.

Q: Tell me a little bit about the history of the Nickerson Lecture Series at the Driehaus Museum—when and why was it launched? Why was it named after Samuel Nickerson?

Anna Wolff: Well, I wasn’t here in 2008 when the museum launched the series, but the focus is to situate this amazing building into the context of prevailing tastes in art, architecture, and design. Simply put, it’s to help our visitors see that this building is both tremendously unique and typical at the same time. I think that what we know of Mr. Nickerson indicates that he like this house was a man of opulence, risk, and beauty, yet still one of many self-made wealthy Chicagoans who were influenced by the fashions of the day.

Q: How does the Series work? What can people expect to experience while attending one of the lectures?

AW: I like to have a little bit of everything, in an attempt to showcase the wide range of history, design and innovation in this fascinating time period. This year each lecture focuses on either a different area of the country or is objects-based. The goal is to encompass the material culture that built the world in which Samuel Mayo Nickerson lived, so that each year we see a slightly larger picture of the 19th century. Although Mr. Nickerson may have never gotten to see San Francisco in its architectural heyday, or visit Mark Twain in Connecticut, these spaces were born out of the same idealism that Nickerson and his architects were influenced by here in Chicago. During the Aesthetic Movement, it was believed that beauty should exist in everything, that handmade is always better than machine-made, and that living with art edifies the soul. Those ideas appear in every lecture in some way—and I like to think Mr. Nickerson is happy about that.

Q: The lecturers we’ve had in the past have covered a wide range of topics. What are some of your favorites?

AW: Hmm…this is a hard one! We’ve had so many fascinating topics and talented speakers over the years. I think Ulysses Dietz last year was a crowd pleaser—I think I could listen to him for hours. Aesthetic Movement Interiors at the New York City Seventh Regiment Armory [with Chelsea Bruner, City University of New York, 2011] was also a really fascinating topic. Who knew those military men had such good taste?

Q: These lectures have some of the most loyal supporters—we see the same faces again and again. What kind of feedback do you get from the community about the impact of these lectures, and do they influence your planning for upcoming seasons in any way?

AW: Sure they do! Our visitors are pretty vocal about what they like and what they don’t. (And most of them know my phone number too!) They typically have glowing reviews but occasionally they let me know if the speaker was difficult to understand or to hear. I factor in their reactions about previous lectures when searching for new faces. Some of our guests faithfully attend all five lectures every single year, so they really do feel a connection to the Series. It’s always gratifying to see people enjoying something that I have had a hand in crafting.

Main hall of the Mark Twain House & Museum, Hartford Connecticut.  Featured in Patti Philippon’s lecture “The House Twain and Tiffany Built” on October 17, 2013.

Q: We just announced our fourth season, and I know you’re excited about all five lectures. Tell me a little bit about how you decide on this wide range of topics and speakers—what was your process in that?

AW: I have a folder that I put potential topics, such as new publications or exhibits or professors and curators, into, which includes a lot of recommendations from our guests as well. By late summer every year, it’s pretty full! Then I start to think through what would be interesting to our audience and categorize the topics, making sure we don’t have too much of one area represented. Once I streamline the list into about 8 to 10 names and topics, the Museum staff gives feedback and then the speakers get an official invitation. If they accept we are thrilled!  Then there are some logistical travel arrangements and paperwork, and then our members get first choice for tickets when we release the series in January.

Q: Anything you would want to do with the Series in the future—say, if you had an unlimited budget?

AW: How about we take this series on the road? Instead of seeing slide shows lets go see the real thing!

EDITOR’S NOTE:

The remaining four lectures in the 2013 Samuel M. Nickerson Lecture Series are:

Buried Treasure and Tragedy: The Architectural Rise of San Francisco

Erin Fehrer, Editor-in-Chief, California Home+Design Magazine

Thursday April 18, 2013

The Architecture of Leisure: The Florida Coast Resorts of Henry Flagler and Henry Plant

Dr. Susan R. Braden, Former Professor of Art History, Auburn University

Thursday May 16, 2013

Inventing the Modern World: Decorative Arts at the World’s Fairs 1851-1939

Jason Busch, Chief Curator and Alan G. and Jane A. Lehman Curator of Decorative Arts and Design, Carnegie Museum of Art

Thursday September 19, 2013

The House Twain and Tiffany Built

Patti Philippon, Beatrice Fox Auerbach Chief Curator, Mark Twain House & Museum

Thursday October 17, 2013

To read more about the lecture series and to purchase tickets, click here.