Thomas Stearns Artwork valuations, appraisals and auction estimates

Thomas Stearns (1936 – 2006) was an American designer. At the end of 1960 he arrived in Murano, with a scholarship from the Italian government and a Fulbright Travel Grant, to develop his research on glass, begun during the years of his training first at the Memphis Academy of Art and subsequently at the prestigious Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI. Read the full biography

Thomas Stearns (1936 – 2006) was an American designer. At the end of 1960 he arrived in Murano, with a scholarship from the Italian government and a Fulbright Travel Grant, to develop his research on glass, begun during the years of his training first at the Memphis Academy of Art and subsequently at the prestigious Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI. Thanks to the remarkable openness of Ludovico de Santillana – who succeeded Paolo Venini as director of the glass factory after his death (1959) – the American artist was able to experiment with the potential of blown glass by making use of the extraordinary expertise of “Checco” Ongaro, unique among the masters who made themselves available to carry out his projects. During his two-year stay at Venini, where he was hired as a guest designer from the end of 1961, Stearns had the opportunity to dedicate himself to his artistic research, alongside which he also developed series of a commercial nature. He created extremely original works, often distinguishable by their asymmetrical and organic shapes and the use of opaque colors of great materiality, generally combined with transparent glass. In 1962, on the occasion of the XXXI Venice Biennale, Venini also chose to present six pieces by the artist judged worthy of the gold medal, which however was not awarded when it became known that the author was not Italian.