***Spirit*** 1998. Cast glass, aluminum, paint, canvas. 84 x 108 inches. Photos by On White Wall

"Spirit" Finds New Home at 270 Madison Ave

March 31, 2025

NEW YORK, NY — Originally commissioned for the 92nd Street Y, iconic Dan Dailey glass mural Spirit is now installed in the lobby of 270 Madison Avenue in Manhattan. ABS Partners Real Estate president and co-founder Gregg Schenker announced the installation last week, describing the artwork as “absolutely magnificent, depicting scenes of art, music and culture, things that help to make New York City vital, diverse, and the most extraordinary city in the world. We hope that this art will enrich the experience for our tenants, our visitors, and for anybody who sees it.”

Spirit is an internally illuminated cast glass mural that illustrates aspects of high culture in the city of New York. When describing his inspiration, Dailey said, “it expresses the vitality and diversity of many aspects of New York City, which stands unique in character among all other cities. From athletic activities to academic lectures and musical performances, there is a beautiful side of humanity depicted through symbolic icons. Consider the power of this world class city; a city that brings millions of people together through a huge diversity of formats in countless styles, in pursuit of excellence, to express joy and wonder, to educate and recreate.”

270 Madison Avenue is a 19-story office building in the heart of the Grand Central District of Manhattan, located near Bryant Park and all forms of mass transit. Spirit is visible from Madison Avenue, and the fully attended, recently renovated lobby offers 24/7 access. ABS Partners Real Estate curates a growing collection of exceptional art within their properties, in the belief that the transformative power of art and its ability to transcend the space it occupies enriches the experience of tenants and visitors.

Spirit was originally commissioned in 1998 in tribute to Jerome Klorfein (1911-1980) to celebrate the 92nd Street Y, a cultural and community center at the corner of East 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Founded in 1874 as the Young Men's Hebrew Association, the 92nd Street Y transformed from a secular social club to a large arts and cultural center during the 20th century.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/abs_partners/ree...

Dan Dailey welcomes you to his retrospective, "Impressions of the Human Spirit."

Currier Museum Retrospective Now On View

October 3, 2024

MANCHESTER, NH — Dan Dailey: Impressions of the Human Spirit is Dailey’s first comprehensive museum retrospective in New England, offering an extensive exploration of the renowned artist’s extraordinary work spanning more than five decades. The Currier Museum of Art exhibition opened on September 26, featuring 81 carefully selected objects from 1972 to 2023, ranging from vases to glass murals, blown glass sculpture, figurative lamps and chandeliers. The exhibition is open to the public and runs until February 2, 2025.

“Dailey’s meticulously crafted forms reveal Dailey as an acute observer of life,” says museum Director Jordana Pomeroy. “Each of his works brings a narrative to life, communicating the complexity of human emotion in glass. The Currier is privileged to work with Dailey on this important retrospective of his remarkable body of work.”

“Impressions of the Human Spirit is a retrospective examination of a transformative sculptor whose creative ideas and inventiveness expanded the vocabulary of art,” writes Senior Curator Kurt Sundstrom.

In the 1960s, Dailey was entrenched in the experimental San Francisco art scene, and was among the many discontented artists who rebelled against Abstract Expressionism. Desiring to tell stories and explore the human condition, Dailey turned to the figure and everyday life as a source of artistic inspiration. His chosen medium of glass, which was unfamiliar in the exclusive art world, was initiated by the resurgence of traditional crafts and the material-based teachings of the Bauhaus.

Dailey has maintained that experimental attitude and has stayed faithful to – while greatly expanding on – the traditions of craftsmanship, making his work groundbreaking and difficult to place within established art historical categories.

A beautiful catalog of this exhibition, published by the Currier Museum of Art and designed by Joe Rapone, with essays by Kurt Sundstrom PHD and Henry Adams PHD, is available at the Currier Museum Shop.

This exhibition is generously supported by Pamela A. Harvey. Additional support is provided by the Galena-Yorktown Foundation, the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass, Patricia L. Wentworth, and Mark Fagan

UPDATE 12/4/24: ARTalk with Dan Dailey — In the video above, join artist Dan Dailey and exhibition curator Kurt Sundstrom for a lively conversation highlighting signature works selected for his retrospective, and Dailey’s storied career as a groundbreaking artist in glass.

The Currier Museum of Art connects art with diverse audiences, from its neighborhood to international and digital visitors, and embraces regional new museum-goers and under-served communities. The museum is dedicated to the social needs of its community though programs serving people with memory loss, families of those with substance-use disorder, those with physical and cognitive challenges, and military veterans.

Moody Currier and his wife Hannah Slade conceived the idea of founding an art museum in in the 1890s. A former governor of the New Hampshire, Moody died in 1898, and Hannah in 1915. Their estate and house formed the basis of the Currier Gallery of Art, which was chartered by the state legislature in 1919. The museum building opened in October 1929, a few days before the great stock market crash ushered in the Great Depression.

Source: https://currier.org/exhibition/dan-dailey/

In Memory of Dr. Paul Parkman, Inventor of Rubella Vaccine

May 8, 2024

A true American patriot who saved millions of lives all over the world, Dr. Paul Parkman was remarkably modest. Whenever I heard him speak about the discovery that led him and Dr. Harry Meyer to figure out a way to stop the Rubella virus from its deadly course, he was quite matter-of-fact and humble about it.

One thing that cannot be overlooked is Paul’s selfless generosity. He and Harry had the rights to the vaccine they developed, but they didn’t keep it for themselves. They could have taken their patent to a drug manufacturer and made a lot of money, probably billions by now, but instead they assigned their patents to the National Institutes of Health, for the good of mankind. This generosity stands in stark contrast with today’s dollar-oriented individuals who think more about becoming rich than achieving something significant toward the common good.

President Lyndon B. Johnson’s words captured the importance of Paul and Harry’s discovery, and their contribution to the welfare of our country. The good that came from their work continues to help people around the world. We should have many more people like Dr. Parkman, outside of political actors and the people who try to control availability of immunization and the drug industry business opportunity seekers, men like Paul need to be recognized for their selfless goals and achievements.

Paul will be fondly remembered by all who were lucky enough to know him. Our thoughts go to Elmerina, Paul’s companion and mate since their childhood years. Together they brought a solid presence to the support group of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Art Museum, with their curiosity and sincere interest in art made of glass. Their contribution to the arts, through building a collection and befriending many artists, and donating artworks to museums, has been done with much thought and care. Through their generous attitude and actions Paul and Elmerina have made a positive difference to the lives of others.

—Dan Dailey

Donations in Dr. Parkman's memory may be made to: Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, MRC 510 Box 37012, Washington, DC 20013-7012, Attn: Paul Parkman Donations

***Parkman Coupe***, 1988. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Elmerina and Paul Parkman

The Musée des Arts Décoratifs at The Louvre Acquires 18 "Character Heads" Drawings

February 8, 2024

PARIS, FRANCE — The Musée des Arts Décoratifs has accepted a gift of eighteen conceptual drawings from the archive of artist Dan Dailey. The Museum already owns The Doctor (above), a vase from Dailey’s 1988 Character Heads series of twenty blown glass vessels based upon these original pencil drawings.

The Prince / Chief / Warrior / Major

The Chef

The Counselor

The Doctor

The Genius

The Baffoon

The Sage

The Matron

The Duchess

The Soldier

The Dignitary

The Magician

The Dryad

The Gourmand

The Empress

The Strongman

The Shrew

The Stripper

“These eighteen graphite studies for anthropomorphic vases testify to the place of drawing in [Dailey’s] creative process and its close relationship with glass,” writes Museum Director Christine Macel. “We are grateful for such a gift that will enrich our collection.” The museum also owns Dailey’s Flute Véronèse 17, a gift from the Daum crystal factory (Nancy, France) where Dailey has worked periodically as an independent designer since 1976.

Located in the north-western wing of the Palais du Louvre, The Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Museum of Decorative Arts), is dedicated to the exhibition and preservation of the decorative arts from around the world. With approximately one million objects in its collection, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs is the largest museum of decorative arts in continental Europe. It is one of three museums operated by the non-profit arts association Les Arts Décoratifs, founded in 1882.

"Banana Woman" of the Face Vase Series is Acquired by the Peabody Essex Museum

September 29, 2023

SALEM, MA — The Peabody Essex Museum has announced a major gift of the glass collection of New York-based philanthropists, Betty and Carl Pforzheimer. The Carl and Betty Pforzheimer Collection contains over 200 works of international studio glass and 40 pieces of historic European and American glass. Among these works is “Banana Woman”, a 1990 blown glass vase by Dan Dailey from his Face Vase series (1988-1997).

This acquisition significantly expands PEM’s noted historic glass collection while celebrating the extraordinary aesthetic possibilities that the combination of sand and fire achieves. Selections from this collection, which is remarkable for the diversity of form, scale and technique, will go on view in PEM’s Native American and American Art galleries this year. In 2024, the collection will be featured in the new Pforzheimer Gallery.

“Betty and Carl Pforzheimer have assembled an astounding collection, featuring the work of more than 90 artists, many of whom will be represented in PEM's collection for the first time,” said Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, PEM’s Executive Director and CEO. “The Pforzheimers’ generous donation of works and companion funding establishes PEM as an important destination for experiencing this remarkable medium and also assures the long term accessibility, care and scholarship of the Pforzheimer Collection for generations to come.”

Founded in 1799 by America's first global entrepreneurs, the Peabody Essex Museum is a museum of international art and culture dedicated to connecting art to the world in which it is made. Through its exhibitions, programs, publications, media, and related activities, PEM strives to create experiences that transform people's lives by broadening their perspectives, attitudes, and knowledge of themselves and the wider world.

Source: https://www.pem.org/press-news/significant...