Gabriel Argy-Rousseau Art Glass

Gabriel Argy-Rousseau is produced wonderful works of pate de verre art glass from about 1914 until 1937.  Somewhere between 200 and 300 different designs have been recorded by researchers.  Scholars believe that between 15,000 and 20,000 total pieces of art glass were produced by G. Argy-Rousseau.  That is a relatively small production and it has made some pieces of his work very rare today.  Please do not make the assumption that Argy-Rousseau was just a studio glass maker.  He was the main creative force behind the glass, but it was in fact a large production.  There were at times as many as 20 employees.  G. Argy-Rousseau glass was sold all over Europe, in The United States, Latin America, and even in North Africa.  It is partly because of this extensive original sales network that his glass can be found all over the world today.

The importance of Argy-Rousseau was two-fold.  First, it was completely unlike anything glass makers were producing at the time.  And secondly, while others started trying the same styles, no one else was ever really able to make anything consistently more appealing or better.  So not only was Argy-Rousseau the first, he was also the best.  That is a feat that is rarely accomplished in the arts.  Below is a brief timeline of Gabriel Argy-Rousseau and his life accomplishments:

1885 – Born in Meslay-le-Vidame, France

1902 – Attends Ecole de Serves

1906 – Graduates from Ecole de Sevres with an engineering degree

1913 – Marries Marianne Argyriades

1914 – Opens his first studio and displayed his original art glass

1921 – Forms firm with Gustav Moser-Millot to market Argy-Rousseau’s art glass

1923 – Generally considered to be the peak of his work

1931 – Moser-Millot liquidates firm marketing Argy-Rousseau works

1932 – Argy-Rousseau starts a new glass making venture

1937 – Closes the mostly unsuccessful new glass operation

1953 – Argy-Rousseau passes away