Brilliant Color: Glass Innovation and Design
Corning Museum Curator discusses new exhibition showcasing the dazzling color revolution in modern glass.
A vast array of color options, whether on clothing, cars or house-paint, began surfacing in 1856 because of a teenager’s scientific mistake: British chemist William Henry Perkin (1838-1907), while seeking cures for malaria, stumbled upon synthetic dyes.
On October 28, Amy McHugh, the Curator of Modern Glass at The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, N.Y., will explore how this discovery inspired dazzling new hues for glass. She is the curator of Brilliant Color, an exhibition on view at the CMOG until January 11, 2026.
Perkin’s breakthrough replaced costly, hard-to-source organic dyes and made color affordable and widely available for 19th- and 20th-century consumers. The fashion, paint, home goods, and automotive industries adopted the new pigments, stoking customers’ appetites for colorful designs. From 1880 to 1935, American and European glass manufacturers catered to market demands with new colors inspired by nature, historic designs, and synthetic dye formulas. As technological knowledge advanced, so too did artisans’ ability to manipulate materials, leading to increasingly diverse aesthetics and palettes.
McHugh will discuss the creative and technical innovations that defined glassmaking during the modern era, as chemistry, industry, and design converged in the age of the “color revolution.”
About the speaker
Since 2023, McHugh has served as the CMOG's Curator of Modern Glass. She provides vision, strategic direction, and oversight for the Museum’s modern glass collection, which includes works from all cultures dating from 1825 to 1945. She also authored the exhibition's catalog, Brilliant Color: Glass Innovation and Design. Before joining CMOG, McHugh held curatorial roles at the Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement in St. Petersburg, Fla., and the Tiffany & Co. Archives in Parsippany, N.J. Specializing in 19th and early 20th-century American glass, jewelry, and metalwork, she holds an M.A. in the History of Decorative Arts and Design from Parsons The New School and has published widely on decorative arts from the modern period.
About the Art Glass Forum | New York
The Art Glass Forum, a nonprofit founded in 2000, supports scholarship about glass, from ancient shards to contemporary experiments. The Oct. 28 online event, 6:30 to 7:30 pm, is free of charge to AGF members (all dues and contributions are tax deductible). AGF members automatically receive the lecture link within 24 hours of the event; no registration or RSVPs are necessary. Non-members can purchase tickets ($10) through Eventbrite (Zoom link will be included in Eventbrite registration confirmation email). For details: artglassforumny.org.
Corning Museum Curator discusses new exhibition showcasing the dazzling color revolution in modern glass.
A vast array of color options, whether on clothing, cars or house-paint, began surfacing in 1856 because of a teenager’s scientific mistake: British chemist William Henry Perkin (1838-1907), while seeking cures for malaria, stumbled upon synthetic dyes.
On October 28, Amy McHugh, the Curator of Modern Glass at The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, N.Y., will explore how this discovery inspired dazzling new hues for glass. She is the curator of Brilliant Color, an exhibition on view at the CMOG until January 11, 2026.
Perkin’s breakthrough replaced costly, hard-to-source organic dyes and made color affordable and widely available for 19th- and 20th-century consumers. The fashion, paint, home goods, and automotive industries adopted the new pigments, stoking customers’ appetites for colorful designs. From 1880 to 1935, American and European glass manufacturers catered to market demands with new colors inspired by nature, historic designs, and synthetic dye formulas. As technological knowledge advanced, so too did artisans’ ability to manipulate materials, leading to increasingly diverse aesthetics and palettes.
McHugh will discuss the creative and technical innovations that defined glassmaking during the modern era, as chemistry, industry, and design converged in the age of the “color revolution.”
About the speaker
Since 2023, McHugh has served as the CMOG's Curator of Modern Glass. She provides vision, strategic direction, and oversight for the Museum’s modern glass collection, which includes works from all cultures dating from 1825 to 1945. She also authored the exhibition's catalog, Brilliant Color: Glass Innovation and Design. Before joining CMOG, McHugh held curatorial roles at the Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement in St. Petersburg, Fla., and the Tiffany & Co. Archives in Parsippany, N.J. Specializing in 19th and early 20th-century American glass, jewelry, and metalwork, she holds an M.A. in the History of Decorative Arts and Design from Parsons The New School and has published widely on decorative arts from the modern period.
About the Art Glass Forum | New York
The Art Glass Forum, a nonprofit founded in 2000, supports scholarship about glass, from ancient shards to contemporary experiments. The Oct. 28 online event, 6:30 to 7:30 pm, is free of charge to AGF members (all dues and contributions are tax deductible). AGF members automatically receive the lecture link within 24 hours of the event; no registration or RSVPs are necessary. Non-members can purchase tickets ($10) through Eventbrite (Zoom link will be included in Eventbrite registration confirmation email). For details: artglassforumny.org.