Art piece

“Artistry ‘ Innovation in Pittsburgh Glass, 1808-1882: From Bakewell ‘ Ensell to Bakewell,… “Artistry ‘ Innovation in Pittsburgh Glass, 1808-1882: From Bakewell ‘ Ensell to Bakewell, Pears ‘ Co.”

Bakewell products with a few others

Jan. 22- March 26

The Frick Art Museum

Frick Art ‘ Historical Center

7227 Reynolds Street

(412) 371-0600

If asked to name a famous Pittsburgh artist, most people would automatically respond with the name Andy Warhol. His iconic pop art images are synonymous with this city, like the Steelers or Primanti Brothers. However, few likely realize that in other avenues of art, Pittsburgh has lesser-known Warhol equivalents.

One such person is Benjamin Bakewell.

In 1808, English-born Bakewell, in partnership with a few others, purchased a floundering glassworks in Pittsburgh. By the 1820s, Bakewell’s glassworks was revered as one of the nation’s foremost glass companies, and it continued to operate (even after Bakewell’s death in 1844) until 1882.

During that time, the Bakewell company produced some of the most beautiful and novel pieces of luxury glassware and common tableware. The company set standards of style and technique that were adopted by other glassworks around the globe.

The history, genius and style of Bakewell’s glass products are now being explored, in the first ever comprehensive survey of Bakewell glass, in the Frick Art ‘ Historical Center’s “Artistry and Innovation in Pittsburgh Glass, 1808-1882: From Bakewell ‘ Ensell to Bakewell Pears ‘ Co.”

The show features more than 130 objects — most from the Bakewell companies (Bakewell ‘ Ensell before Benjamin’s death, Bakewell Pears ‘ Co. after his death) and some from comparable glassworks in Europe. Celery glasses, vases, flasks, pitchers, decanters, sugar bowls and furniture knobs, in clear, white and brilliantly colored glass are some of the many items on display.

And while the glass pieces are wonderful to look at alone — simply appreciating the intricacy of a diamond burst design on a vase, the complicated roundings of a decanter’s stopper or the delicate curve of a pitcher’s spout — the beauty of this exhibit is that the museum supplies contextual information to explain each display case.

On the wall near an 1825 mantle ornament containing a white cameo of George Washington and a series of Benjamin Franklin cameo-incrusted pieces is a placard with illustrations explaining the “cameo-incrustation” or “sulphide” technique developed by the Bakewell firm.

Next to a fruit stand with a clear glass base and white glass top is a sign explaining Bakewell’s patented “pressed glass” technique for combining two kinds of glass into a single object.

There are pieces which are free-blown, mold-blown and pressed. Decorative techniques such as cutting and engraving are also explained — not only in process, but also in terms of what types of decoration and form were in style during certain years and how Bakewell responded to such trends.

Although the Bakewell company was interested in creating lavish decorative objects and breaking ground in glass making techniques, they were also grounded in their surroundings — remembering the industries making their work possible as well as the utilitarian needs of the people.

There is a series of flasks accompanied by a Pittsburgh-related explanation for their decoration. One flask features a steamboat on one side and rye on the other. The steamboat symbolizes the commercial trade that was so important to Pittsburgh, and the rye indicates the importance of agriculture and the whiskey that the object was meant to contain.

Overall, “Artistry and Innovation” is worth a trip to the Frick in Point Breeze. If you’re at all interested in sumptuous and beautiful glassware (antiques, no less) or the industrial and artistic history of Pittsburgh, this exhibit is sure to spark your interest and teach you something in the process.