Author Joseph H. Larnerd will discuss his new book, Undercut: Cut Glass in Working-Class Life during the Long Gilded Age, on the medium of cut glass—very much in fashion in the 19th century—and the labors required to make and maintain these dazzling artifacts.

How did workers experience cut glass during its cultural heyday in the 19th century? Rather than privilege the stories of factory owners or wealthy consumers, Undercut: Cut Glass in Working-Class Life during the Long Gilded Age refracts the medium’s history through the labors required to make and maintain these exquisite glass pieces as well as popular representations of this work, from demonstrations at World Fairs to images of domestic servants with finished pieces in their charge. Foregrounding the lives of working peoples, Undercut offers a multifaceted social art history of a once-popular genre of decorative art that cuts across class, gender, and race.

Joseph H. Larnerd is an assistant professor of Art History in the Department of Art and Art History at Drexel University.

A reception will follow the lecture.

Thursday, October 22
6:00–8:00 p.m.
Arader Galleries
1016 Madison Avenue, New York

Purchase tickets.

William C. Anderson (designer), American Cut Glass Company (probably manufacturer), Bowl, 1897–1914. Blown, cut lead glass, 9.5 cm x 23 cm. Gift of Robert Quaintance Fomon in memory of William C. Anderson, President and Manager of the American Cut Glass Company of Lansing, Michigan. CMoG 99.4.77. Image courtesy of Corning Museum of Glass.

Gustave F. Ekdahl (cutter), Rose Bowl, 1909. Blown and cut lead glass, 16 cm x 20.3 cm. Gift of Ada E. Ekdahl in memory of Felix J. Ekdahl. CMoG 98.4.169. Image courtesy of Corning Museum of Glass.