This illustrated volume explores the dilemma facing studio glass after World War II. Can art be fashioned out of glass, or do the utilitarian associations embedded within the medium preclude it from being considered as an acceptable art medium? This book reveals the early history of the movement.

This fully illustrated volume explores the dilemma facing American studio glass after World War II: Can art be fashioned out of glass, or do the utilitarian associations embedded within the medium preclude it from being considered as an acceptable art medium? This book is the first examination of this question that reveals both the early history of the movement, and the clash of ambitions and power that mark the relationship between the so-called "crafts" and high art worlds.