studios 1898 hauser art glass co. 1946 headquarters philadelphia pennsylvania winona minnesota area served north american and abroad services design fabrication and restoration of architectural stained glass windows website willet hauser architectural glass willet hauser architectural glass inc is a north american stained glass firm that specializes in the design fabrication and restoration of leaded stained glass and faceted glass windows with locations in winona minnesota and philadelphia pennsylvania . the studio one of the oldest in north america was formed through the merger of two american stained glass studios the willet stained glass studios of philadelphia pennsylvania and the hauser art glass company inc. located in winona minnesota . the two united in 1977 and together are one of the largest stained glass studios in north america . in 2005 the company changed its name to willet hauser architectural glass inc. to more accurately reflect the long term direction of the studio . 1 on january 9 2014 the arizona based national stained glass studio associated crafts acquired willet hauser architectural glass inc. . 2 to date willet hauser has created and or restored windows in over 15 000 buildings located throughout the world . 3 contents 1 history 1.1 willet studios 1.2 hauser art glass company 2 innovations 2.1 farbigem 2.2 sculptured gold windows 3 notable commissions 3.1 cadet chapel 3.2 hall of science and technology 3.3 metropolitan transportation authority 4 contributing artists and designers 4.1 studio designers 4.2 other media 5 references 6 external links history edit willet studios edit willet studios was founded in pittsburgh pennsylvania in 1898 by the muralist and stained glass artist william willet and his wife anne lee . in its inception the studio went by the title of the willet stained glass company and by 1909 had been incorporated as the willet stained glass and decorating company . by 1921 the firm was self identified as an organization of artists designers and craftsmen in ecclesiastical and domestic art ... devoted to the making of windows and decorations in the spirit and technique of the best european work of the middle ages . and listed the following within its oeuvre memorial windows mural paintings mosaics leaded glass stations of the cross altars triptychs fonts bronze tablets tapestries interior decorations of all descriptions as well as portraits on glass or canvas and miniatures . 4 anne lee and their son henry lee took over the studio after william s death in 1921 . 5 under henry s guidance the company expanded from a regional business to a studio of national and international renown with completed projects in all fifty states and fourteen foreign countries . 6 under henry lee s guidance the studio experimented with new techniques and in the 1950s was one of the first american studios to design and fabricate faceted glass windows . willet studios also developed the famous sculptured gold window technique and experimented with various methods of laminating stained glass a technique known as farbigem . 7 in 1971 the franklin institute awarded henry lee willet the frank p. brown medal . in 1965 e. crosby willet the son of henry lee willet became the third generation president of willet studios . under his leadership willet windows were created for many of the major churches and cathedrals in the united states including the national cathedral in washington d.c. and the cathedral of st. mary of the assumption in san francisco . 1 hauser art glass company edit the hauser art glass company another long standing american stained glass studio was founded in 1946 by james e. hauser in winona minnesota . it was originally opened as a repair and restoration studio focused on serving small remote churches after hauser recognized an opportunity to aid many american churches whose stained glass windows had fallen into neglect and disrepair during the second world war . as the firm s projects became larger and more complex a number of glass artists specializing in the replication of different design styles joined the studio . the firm eventually began creating moderately priced windows for neighborhood churches as well as windows for hotels restaurants and private homes . however its main specialty remained the repair and restoration of existing stained glass including those by connick studios tiffany studios john la farge henry wynd young franz mayer of munich and innsbruck studios . 1 innovations edit in the 1960s when the industry began a movement toward contemporary design henry and crosby willet experimented in new styles and techniques including faceted glass farbigem laminated glass sculptured gold mosaics and sandcarving or sandblasting . 8 farbigem edit the willet studio introduced the dutch technique of farbigem to the united states in 1966 after a visit to the amsterdam glass factory known as glas industrie van tetterode . research and development was carried out at the studio from 1967 into the 1980s . in the process of farbigem a base plate is made by sandwiching plexiglass between two layers of glass . on this surface layer upon layer of glass can be built up in all different directions . designs can be traditional or abstract . the pieces are held together by a crystal clear flexible adhesive that was developed in the netherlands which allowed the glass to naturally expand and contract . entire walls could be designed in decorative thicknesses of glass . the farbigem technique eventually fell out of favor due the deficient technology of the adhesive which with time allowed the multiple layers of glass to separate . changes in aesthetic taste also contributed to its decline . today windows similar to the farbigem technique are fabricated in stained glass studios under the name laminated glass . sculptured gold windows edit henry willet created the first sculptured gold window between 1948 49 . when first devised the sculptured gold overlay was based on leaded stained glass windows . later faceted glass set in epoxy resin was used . these glasses about an inch in thickness but possibly up to two inches for special effects contribute great brilliance of color under transmitted daylight . the sheet lead overlay is formed in relief by repousse literally beaten up from the underside to give a sculptured effect and is also incised with slits of varying widths to let the richly colored glass background shine through in the daytime . the fact that the sculptured lead surface has been flown with 23 carat gold leaf is the secret of the brilliant metallic night effect . the appearance of silver can also be obtained by the use of palladium leaf which does not tarnish . the first gold window installed in a church known as the glory window was designed by henry lee willet and marguerite gaudin in 1951 for westwood community church in los angeles california . notable commissions edit cadet chapel edit sanctuary window graduate chapel west point new york in 1910 william willet was invited to compete for the design and installation of the great sanctuary window in the cadet chapel at the united states military academy at west point . ten other designers including nicola d ascenzo and tiffany studios joined willet in this international competition . 9 in 1911 the studio was granted the commission of the sanctuary window a memorial to the graduates of the military academy . 10 the project for the design and fabrication of the nave and north windows was awarded to the willet studio . the master plan for the nave windows which were sponsored by individual classes in the hopes that every class would eventually be represented 10 was devised by bertram goodhue william willet colonel c.w. larned and chaplain edward s. travers . the window program depicts familiar stories of the old and new testament as well as stories of saints from the early church . the north window also designed and fabricated by the studio is a memorial to the alumni who died in world war i. the commission which spanned three generations of willets over a period of sixty six years remains the longest continuing commission in american history . 11 hall of science and technology edit the hall of science was designed in 1962 by wallace harrison for the 1964 new york world s fair in flushing meadows new york . harrison modeled the 80 foot tall 24 m building after the kaiser wilhelm tower in berlin germany a 100 foot 30 m faceted glass tower composed of deep blue faceted glass . harrison s cornerless serpentine shaped hall of science is made up of 5 400 coffers each 2 feet 0.61 m wide and 3 feet 0.91 m tall . the willet studio under henry lee willet s guidance was commissioned to construct the 5 400 panels that form the walls in less than one years time . 12 each panel is composed of thick chunks of blue faceted glass held together by cement . twenty to 30 different shades of blue glass imported from france and the blenko glass company of milton west virginia were used in the project . the blue light which engulfs the interior symbolizes the heavens and carries out the theme rendezvous in space . 13 metropolitan transportation authority edit arts for transit is a program of the metropolitan transportation authority in new york city that encourages the use of public transit by presenting visual and performing arts projects in subway and commuter rail stations . as a part of the overall project neighborhood artists working in various media are invited to compete for projects in nearby stations . in 1998 willet hauser was selected to fabricate faceted stained glass panels based on the winning designs of many of these artists . the project is one of the largest projects in the studio s history . contributing artists and designers edit studio designers edit anthony mako columcille sharkey dietrich spahn eric sundean charles z. lawrence marguerite gaudin odell billie prather benoit gilsoul kenneth crocker adam smith jane collins and mark khaisman have all worked with the studio . 14 other media edit ben shahn frank shoonover franklin watkins gy rgy kepes jacob landau ralph pallen coleman sadao watanabe ellen miret david pushkin max abramovitz wallace harrison have worked with the studio in other media . 1 references edit a b c d studio history and biographies . willet hauser architectural glass archives & library philadelphia pennsylvania john phillips . america s stained glass window heritage companies come together as associated crafts acquires willett hauser . prweb online visibility from vocus . 10 jan. 2014 pazulski kristin . local stained glass firm continues 108 year tradition of craftsmanship . chestnut hill local 9 nov. 2006 . willet william . book of results of the willet stained glass and decorating company philadelphia willet stained glass and decorating co. 1921 anne lee willet 1867 1943 . stained glass quarterly . spring 1943 pazulski kristin . local stained glass firm continues 108 year tradition of craftsmanship . chestnut hill local . 9 nov. 2006 stained glass artist henry lee willet . philadelphia inquirer oct. 1983 . waggoner shawn . crosby willet and willet stained glass studios three generations of glass for the ages . glass art jan feb 2003 57 farnsworth jean m. stained glass in catholic philadelphia . philadelphia saint joseph s university press 2002 . a b pappas george s. the cadet chapel united states military academy . west point new york u.s.m.a. 1987 . parente leigh anne . the st. martin s commission . the willet stained glass studio s largest commission yet . the stained glass quarterly 101 4 2006 278 . waggoner shawn . crosby willet and willet stained glass sudios three generations of glass for the ages . glass art jan feb 2003 58 long tania . hall of science studies lighting . the new york times 7 oct. 1964 . http www.khaismanstudio.com mark khaisman external links edit official website associated crafts owner retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org