Dan Owen Dailey (born 1947) is an American artist and educator, known for his sculpture. With the support of a team of artists and crafts people, he creates sculptures and functional objects in glass and metal. He has taught at many glass programs and is

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at the

Massachusetts College of Art Massachusetts College of Art and Design, branded as MassArt, is a public college of visual and applied art in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1873, it is one of the nation’s oldest art schools, the only publicly funded independent art school ...

, where he founded the glass program. Emerging from the studio glass movement initiated by

Harvey Littleton Harvey Littleton (June 14, 1922 – December 13, 2013) was an American glass artist and educator, one of the founders of the studio glass movement; he is often referred to as the "Father of the Studio Glass Movement". Born in Corning (city), Ne ...

, Dailey's work has branched out from the mainstream by the incorporation of metal into many of the sculptures. Additionally, he has worked with several glass companies, for more than twenty years. Since 1971, Dailey's work has been featured in more than 150 exhibitions and included in over 350 juried or invitational group shows.

Early life and education

Dan Dailey was born on February 4, 1947, in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Daily attended the

Philadelphia College of Art Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since 1 ...

(now called the University of the Arts, BFA 1969) and

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

(MFA 1972). Dailey studied with Dale Chihuly at RISD, and was Chihuly’s first graduate student. In 1972 to 1973, he was awarded the

Fulbright Fellowship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

to study glass at the Venini Factory in Murano, Italy. He is married to Linda MacNeil, an artist also working with glass and metal, primarily in the studio or art jewelry field.

Career

1970s

Dailey worked at

Massachusetts College of Art and Design Massachusetts College of Art and Design, branded as MassArt, is a public college of visual and applied art in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1873, it is one of the nation’s oldest art schools, the only publicly funded independent art school ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

from 1973 until 1985; where he was the founder of the glass department. Additionally he taught in 1975 at

Pilchuck Glass School Pilchuck Glass School is an international center for glass art education. The school was founded in 1971 by Dale Chihuly, Anne Gould Hauberg (1917-2016), and John H Hauberg (1916-2002). The campus is located on a former tree farm in Stanwood, W ...

Oldknow, Tina. ''Pilchuck: A Glass School'' (1996) in

Stanwood, Washington Stanwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The city is located north of Seattle, at the mouth of the Stillaguamish River near Camano Island. As of the 2010 census, its population is 6,231. Stanwood was founded in 186 ...

. In the 1970s, Dailey continued to create illuminated sculpture and vase forms, and began to develop

Vitrolite Pigmented structural glass, also known generically as structural glass and as vitreous marble, and marketed under the names Carrara glass, Sani Onyx, and Vitrolite, among others, is a high-strength, colored glass. Developed in the United States i ...

wall reliefs. In 1975, Dailey received a fellowship at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

's Center for Advanced Visual Studies in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

where he co-taught the class ''Glass, Gas and Electricity'' with German artist Otto Piene. This experimental sculpture class emphasized and explored the phenomenon of illumination. In conjunction with the MIT Research Lab for Electronics, Dailey further studied the qualities of light and glass. From in 1978 to 2003, Dailey created 7 editions of pâte de verre works with Cristallerie Daum, a French decorative glass studio. Dailey's editions of work with studio Daum include, ''Les Danseurs'', ''Le Vent'', ''Le Joyeau'', ''L’Eau'', ''Le Vin'', ''Le Soleil'', and ''La Dame''. In 1979, he received a

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

Fellowship–Glass award.

1980s

During 1980, Dailey was awarded the Massachusetts Council on the Arts Fellowship–Glass. From 1984 until 1985, he worked as an independent designer and artist with

Steuben Glass Works Steuben Glass is an American art glass manufacturer, founded in the summer of 1903 by Frederick Carder and Thomas G. Hawkes in Corning, New York, which is in Steuben County, from which the company name was derived. Hawkes was the owner of the la ...

in Corning, New York. At the request of Steuben, Dailey produced sports-themed designs to be produced on vases, with one design, ''Ice Dancers'', being produced. Additionally from 1984 to 1985, he worked as an independent designer and artist at

Fenton Art Glass Company The Fenton Art Glass Company is a glass manufacturer founded in 1905 by brothers Frank L. Fenton and John W. Fenton. History The original factory was in an old glass factory in Martins Ferry, Ohio in 1905. The factory at one time was owned by the ...

, in

Williamstown, West Virginia Williamstown is a city in Wood County, West Virginia, United States, along the Ohio River. It is part of the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna metropolitan area. The population was 2,997 at the 2020 census. The now closed Fenton Art Glass Company wa ...

. Together with Fenton Art Glass Company, Dailey worked on producing cast glass components of a low-relief mural. Over a period of 20 years, Dailey made 26 large scale murals, one of which was by , weighing over . With numerous assistants, Dailey also blew glass to create various works, notably, the mural ''Science Fiction Series'' (created 1985 to 1986). : *1987 Commission: ''Orbit'',

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th Street and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco buildings, commissioned by the Rockefeller family, span th ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

:In 1987

Henry Geldzahler Henry Geldzahler (July 9, 1935 – August 16, 1994) was a Belgian-born American curator of contemporary art in the late 20th century, as well as a historian and critic of modern art. He is best known for his work at the Metropolitan Museum ...

Milton Glaser Milton Glaser (June 26, 1929June 26, 2020) was an American graphic designer. His most notable designs include the I Love New York logo, a 1966 poster for Bob Dylan, and the logos for DC Comics, Stony Brook University and Brooklyn Brewery. In 195 ...

, and

Hugh Hardy Hugh Hardy (July 26, 1932 – March 17, 2017) was an American architect, known for designing and revitalizing theaters, performing arts venues, public spaces, and cultural facilities across the United States. ''The New Yorker'' writer Brendan ...

selected Dailey to make a cast glass relief mural titled ''Orbit'', for the

Rainbow Room The Rainbow Room is a private event space on the 65th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza at Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Run by Tishman Speyer, it is among the highest venues in New York City. The Rainbow Room serves cla ...

at the Rockefeller Center. The mural is a by abstract representation of orbiting planets and artistic debris, illuminated from behind with changing colors coordinated with the mood lighting of the dining/dancing space. In 2018 ''Orbit'' was removed and donated to the

Toledo Museum of Art The Toledo Museum of Art is an internationally known art museum located in the Old West End neighborhood of Toledo, Ohio. It houses a collection of more than 30,000 objects. With 45 galleries, it covers 280,000 square feet and is currently in th ...

. Dailey also created wall sconces for various locations around the Rainbow Room complex. These works were later removed and their location is unknown. *1987 Solo exhibition:

Renwick Gallery The Renwick Gallery is a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum located in Washington, D.C. that displays American craft and decorative arts from the 19th to 21st century. The gallery is housed in a National Historic Landmark building that ...

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

:Henry Geldzahler wrote an essay for the catalog, in which he noted, "Dan Dailey's achievement is in the seamless marriage he effects in his work in every medium between the idiosyncratic convolutions of his inner landscape and the classic harmony and lucidity of the great tradition in glass, of whom Daum, Nancy and Lalique are giants. Dailey's work joins in that tradition, but with a contemporary spin that causes the viewer to smile in complicity."1987 exhibition catalogue titled ''Dan Dailey: Simple Complexities in Drawings and Glass 1972-1987''. Renwick Gallery, National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. *1987 Retrospective exhibition of Dan Dailey’s work at the

University of the Arts (Philadelphia) The University of the Arts (UArts) is a private art university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its campus makes up part of the Avenue of the Arts in Center City, Philadelphia. Dating back to the 1870s, it is one of the oldest schools of art or ...

, Rosenwald Wolf Gallery :The exhibition, curated by Eleni Cocordas, consisted of fifty works, including illuminated sculpture,

wall reliefs, vases, and pastel drawings. *1989 Masters Fellowship, Creative Glass Center of America

1990s

*1993 collections: Musée des Arts Décoratifs,

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, Paris :Dailey work titled ''The Doctor'' from 1988 is accepted into their permanent collection. *1994 commission: Boca Palms :26 special edition vases commissioned by the

Boca Raton Museum of Art Founded by artists, the Boca Raton Museum of Art was established in 1950 as the Art Guild of Boca Raton. The organization has grown to encompass an Art School, Guild, Store, and Museum with permanent collections of contemporary art, photography, ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. *1998 Invited Artist:

Waterford Crystal Waterford Crystal is a manufacturer of lead glass or "crystal", especially in cut glass, named after the city of Waterford, Ireland. In January 2009, the main Waterford Crystal manufacturing base on the edge of Waterford was closed due to the ...

in Ireland :Dailey was invited to work as an independent artist by Waterford Crystal, Kilbarry, Ireland, in 1998. Dailey visited three times between 1998-1999 to create chandeliers, wall sconces, and seven engraved vases, using particular processes unique to the history and specialty of Waterford Crystal. *1998 awards **Fellow of the

American Craft Council The American Craft Council (ACC) is a national non-profit organization that champions craft based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1943 by Aileen Osborn Webb, the council hosts national craft shows and conferences, publishes a quarterly mag ...

, ACC College of Fellows **Outstanding Achievement in Glass, UrbanGlass **Honorary Lifetime Membership Award, Glass Arts Society

2000s

*2000 Libensky Award, Chateau Ste. Michelle Vineyards & Winery *2001 awards **President's Distinguished Artist Award, University of the Arts, Philadelphia **Masters of the Medium Award
James Renwick Alliance
*Art of Liberty Award, National Liberty Museum, Philadelphia *2004 commission: Tribute Chandelier,

Providence Performing Arts Center The Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC), formerly Loew's State Theatre and Palace Concert Theater, is a multi-use not-for-profit theater located at 220 Weybosset Street in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It was built in 1928 as a movie p ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

*2007 publication: ''Glassigator'', written and illustrated by Dan Dailey and Allison MacNeil Dailey in conjunction with the

:The Toledo Museum of Art, a museum whose major focus is on glass, asked Dailey to create a

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

explaining and illustrating the process of glassblowing. Dailey collaborated with Allison Dailey, who developed the characters and executed all of the final watercolor drawings for the book. The book is based on the making of a particular vase titled ''Alligator'', from Dailey's ''Animal Vase'' series begun in 1992. *2007 publication: ''Dan Dailey'', a 384-page volume on Dailey's work, published by Harry N. Abrams. :The book, a comprehensive view of Dailey's work from 1968 to 2007, includes 460 illustrations and 400 full-color images, and was designed and edited by Joe Rapone. Writing and essays are by

, Tina Oldknow, and William Warmus. *2007 Silver Star Alumni Award, College of Art and Design at the

*2008-09 Residency: G.A.P.P Glass Residency (Guest Artist Pavilion Project)

, Toledo, Ohio :Dailey was asked to be a part of the G.A.P.P. The focus of the residency was to study and respond to the museum's collection, with a focus on landscape and paintings. Dailey's glass mural project for the museum was begun in 2008 and is now in progress. *2009–Present: ''Materialism'' lecture series,

, Boston :Dailey conducted a series of artist interviews, in collaboration with Joe Rapone, which explore the notion of "Materialism", a term that includes a rethinking of movements of the 1970s, specifically the Studio Craft Movement.

2010 and onward

*2010 Guest Artist Pavilion Project - Artist Residency,

, Toledo, OH *2012 Exhibition ''Dan Dailey: Working Method'', Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, Massachusetts :Dailey named ''Professor Emeritus'' at

, Boston, MA *2013 Visiting Artist Fellowship,

Museum of Glass The Museum of Glass (MOG) is a 75,000-square-foot (7,000 m²) art museum in Tacoma, Washington, dedicated to the medium of glass. Since its founding in 2002, the Museum of Glass has been committed to creating a space for the celebration of the st ...

, Tacoma, WA *2014 Exhibition ''Dan Dailey: Illuminated Works'' 7,

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

, New York *2014 Exhibition ''Dan Dailey: Working Method'', Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA, 19 works *2014 Publication ''Dan Dailey: Visions Realized'', Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA, 56 pp :Distinguished Educator Award,

of the Smithsonian American Art Museum :Lifetime Achievement Award, Glass Art Society *2019 Exhibition ''Dan Dailey: Character Sketch'' Chrysler Museum of Art Norfolk, VA 39 works *2019 Publication ''Dan Dailey: Character Sketch'' Chrysler Museum of Art Norfolk, VA 50 pp

Public museum collections

United States

Europe

Other locations

Gallery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dailey, Dan 1947 births Living people Artists from Philadelphia American glass artists Rhode Island School of Design faculty Massachusetts College of Art and Design faculty Sculptors from Pennsylvania University of the Arts (Philadelphia) alumni Rhode Island School of Design alumni