DAN DAILEY

From the frontlines of the American Studio Glass Movement to the renowned studios of Cristallerie Daum, the Fenton Art Glass Company, Waterford Crystal, Herman Miller, and Steuben Glass, Dan Dailey’s glasswork has been in the public eye for the past four decades. Here, for the first time, is a comprehensive look at his beautiful—and playful—oeuvre.

Like his colleagues and predecessors Harvey Littleton and Dale Chihuly, Dailey’s work has been met with critical and popular acclaim at home as well as abroad, and collected by nearly fifty museums on three continents. His vibrant, humorous pieces draw upon his background in cartooning and training in nearly every glass technique, as well as a proficiency in metalwork—a blend of antic and innovation that continually pushes the medium forward. With a foreword by graphic designer Milton Glaser, an interview with the artist by Corning Museum curator Tina Oldknow, and an essay by William Warmus, this collection of over 400 works is an essential addition to any library.

Dan Dailey: Impressions of the Human Spirit is a retrospective examination of a transformative sculptor whose creative ideas and inventiveness expanded the vocabulary of art.

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. —Kurt Sundstrom, Chief Curator

Published for the exhibition which opened at the Currier Museum of Art September 26, 2024 –February 2, 2025, this catalogue features three essays on Dailey's work, a interview with Dailey, over 100 images of the pieces in the exhibition, and a number of Dailey's preliminary drawings as well.

DAN DAILEY:
Impressions of the
Human Spirit

By Henry Adams and Kurt Sundstrom. Preface by Jordana Pomeroy. Foreword by Lorenzo Fusi. Design by Joe Rapone.

Available at the Currier Museum Shop

2024, Currier Museum of Art
Trim Size: 9 x 12"
Page Count: 120
Cover: Hardcover
Illustrations: 9 BW & 113 Color

ISBN: 979-8-218-49872-6

DAN DAILEY:
Character Sketch

By Carolyn Needell, with Robin Rogers and Erik Neil. Foreword by Seth Feman.
Design by Ken Gray.

2020, Chrysler Museum of Art
Trim Size: 10 x 9.5"
Page Count: 60
Cover: Hardcover
Illustrations: 6 BW & 27 Color

ISBN: 978-0-940744-90-5

Published for the exhibition Dan Dailey: Character Sketch, on view at the Chrysler Museum of Art February 21 – November 29, 2020, this catalogue features three essays on Dailey's work, a biography, over thirty images of the pieces in the exhibition, and a number of Dailey's preliminary drawings as well.

Known as one of the most unique voices within the field of contemporary glass, Dan Dailey pairs an industrial palette with precise draftsmanship and technical craftsmanship to produce his figurative artwork. Subjective and narrative in nature, his pieces are inspired by the human character and based upon his direct observation of the world.

View the Dan Dailey: Character Sketch exhibition catalogue

Take a virtual tour of the exhibition here

VISIONS REALIZED:
The Work of Dan Dailey

By Perry A. Price, with Jeanne Koles and Paul J. Smith. Foreword by Chris Rifkin. Design by Ken Gray.

2012, Fuller Craft Museum
Trim Size: 9.75 x 10"
Page Count: 54
Cover: Hardcover
Illustrations: 34 BW & 55 Color

ISBN/EAN: 978-0-934358-03-3

Published in conjunction with the exhibition Dan Dailey: Working Method at the Fuller Craft Museum February 18 – September 3, 2012, Visions Realized contains three essays on Dailey's work, a biography, and a number of full color images of his work as well as images documenting his sketches and some of the steps in his process.

Dan Dailey: Working Method was an exhibition with a focus on significant works from twelve different series, including the original sketches and full scale drawings for the works exhibited. Dailey, the first graduate student of Dale Chihuly, has pursued his own unique voice in glass, from his singular work in antique Vitrolite sheet glass to complex constructions of blown glass and metal. By pairing each work with the very drawings and models used in planning and production, as well as images and video of Dailey and his team at work, this exhibition endeavors to pull back the curtain on the incredible choreography of technique and vision that make contemporary glass one of the most demanding, exciting, and unparalleled art forms today.

GLASSIGATOR

By Dan Dailey and Allison Dailey. Designed and illustrated by Allison Dailey.

2012, Toledo Museum of Art
Trim Size: 12 x 9"
Page Count: 36
Cover: Hardcover — Cloth with Jacket
Illustrations: 20 Color

ISBN: 0-935172-29-7
EAN: 9780935172294

Toledo Museum of Art's first children's book and the first children's book about glassblowing, Glassigator is sure to captivate readers of all ages. Internationally known glass artist Dan Dailey and his daughter, artist/architect Allison Dailey, have written and illustrated this entertaining and charming story. Follow the hot shop adventures of young Libbey and her friends as Mr. Gaffer teaches them all about teamwork and the glassblowing process.

DAN DAILEY: Simple Complexities in Drawings and Glass 1972-1987

By William Warmus and Henry Geldzahler. Foreword by Eleni Cocordas. Design by Joe Rapone.

1987, Philadelphia Colleges of the Arts
Trim Size: 9.25 x 12"
Page Count: 64
Cover: Hardcover — Cloth
Illustrations: 22 BW & 30 Color

Library of Congress
Catalog Card Number 86-63362

'Dan Dailey: Simple Complexities in Drawings and Glass, 1972-1987,' featuring major pieces from private and public collections throughout the country, provides a comprehensive view of the artist's work of the past fifteen years. It is an exhibition significant in the artist's career, in the contemporary visual arts, and in the history of the Philadelphia Colleges of the Arts, for Dailey an alumnus. —Eleni Cocordas, Curator

Published for the exhibition which opened in the Rosenwald–Wolf Gallery at University of the Arts (then known as Philadelphia Colleges of the Arts) February 27 – March 30, 1987, and then the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washingn D.C. June 26 – October 25, 1987, this catalog features over thirty images of the pieces in the exhibition, and a number of Dailey's preliminary drawings as well.