Linda MacNeil
Encyclopedia
Linda MacNeil is an American
artist specializing in contemporary jewelry that combines metalwork with glass and sometimes precious stones to create miniature sculptures.
and received her BFA
from the Rhode Island School of Design
in 1976. She was introduced to glassmaking at the Massachusetts College of Art where she also met her husband, glass and metal sculptor Dan Dailey. She has taught in glass and sculpture programs including the Pilchuck Glass School
, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts
, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, Philadelphia College of Art, Waterford Crystal
and the Miasa Center and Niijima Glass Art Museum in Japan.
MacNeil sets great store by the "wearability" of her pieces as well as on perfect execution. In 2002 a book was published, United in Beauty: The Jewelry and Collectors of Linda MacNeil with portraits of eighty women wearing pieces created by MacNeil. In the introductory essay, Helen W. Drutt English notes: 'Like Olaf Skoogfors
and Toni Goessler-Snyder before her, she can claim to be a constructivist
whose passion for geometric forms allows her to create works that are compositions in themselves - independent of the wearer.'
Kate Dobbs Ariail writing in Metalsmith about the Mint Museum of Craft & Design's exhibit; "Sculptural Radiance: The Jewelry and Objects of Linda MacNeil" notes that "MacNeil evidences an unusually nuanced appreciation of her material. Her use of a variety of types of glass, along with various finishing techniques, gives her an unexpectedly broad palette of hue, value, tint and reflectivity, so that her crisp design takes on a painterly tone." Commenting on the same exhibition, Joan Falconer Byrd, professor of art at Western Carolina University
, notes that 'MacNeil commands an extensive vocabulary of metal fabricating techniques.' For much of her career, MacNeil favored brass that she then had electroplated with gold.
MacNeil individually casts and hand carves or otherwise manipulates each of the glass elements in her neck pieces, ear rings and brooches. Art Jewelry Today published in 2003, identifies MacNeil as a pioneer in the use of glass in contemporary jewelry, while making reference to historic precedents.
One of the glass making techniques Linda employs is lost wax casting with pâte de verre (see Nile Grass below)to create intricate shapes with great surface detail. Her work was chosen as an example of this technique, which was very popular in the nineteenth century Art Deco
movement, by Jeffrey B. Snyder in Art Jewelry Today 2
Other pieces use polished Vitriolite (see Elements below), a dense, opaque, industrial glass made prior to the 1940s, often in pieces that are a reinterpretation of Art Deco; some, such as the Lucent Lines series (see below), use acid-polished glass with gold connecting rods drilled through using the visual distortions of glass to create shifting geometric patterns. Some rigid collars from the late 1980s and early 1990s were inspired in part by Bronze Age Celtic neckpieces and Egyptian jewelry while others again reference the Art Deco period.
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|Elements 1984
Includes Vitrolite
|Nile Grass 2002
Includes pâte de verre
|Lucent Lines 2004>Neck Collar 2010
Acid polished clear glass;
mirror laminated yellow glass.
Polished cream and black Vitrolite glass.
Gold plated.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist specializing in contemporary jewelry that combines metalwork with glass and sometimes precious stones to create miniature sculptures.
Education, influences and characteristics of the work
MacNeill studied at the Philadelphia College of Art, the Massachusetts College of ArtMassachusetts College of Art
Massachusetts College of Art and Design is a publicly-funded college of visual and applied art, founded in 1873. It is one of the oldest art schools, the only publicly-funded free-standing art school in the United States, and was the first art college in the United States to grant an artistic degree...
and received her BFA
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
from the Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
in 1976. She was introduced to glassmaking at the Massachusetts College of Art where she also met her husband, glass and metal sculptor Dan Dailey. She has taught in glass and sculpture programs including the Pilchuck Glass School
Pilchuck Glass School
Founded in 1971 by Dale Chihuly, Anne Gould Hauberg and John H. Hauberg , Pilchuck Glass School is an international center for glass art education. The name "Pilchuck" comes from the local Native American language and translates to "red river"...
, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, commonly called "Haystack," is a craft school located on the coast of Deer Isle, Maine.Haystack was founded in 1950. It took its name from its original location near Haystack Mountain, in Montville, Maine...
, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, Philadelphia College of Art, Waterford Crystal
Waterford Crystal
Waterford Crystal is a trademark brand of crystal glassware, previously produced in Waterford, Ireland, though the factory there was shut down after the receivership of Waterford Wedgwood plc in early 2009...
and the Miasa Center and Niijima Glass Art Museum in Japan.
MacNeil sets great store by the "wearability" of her pieces as well as on perfect execution. In 2002 a book was published, United in Beauty: The Jewelry and Collectors of Linda MacNeil with portraits of eighty women wearing pieces created by MacNeil. In the introductory essay, Helen W. Drutt English notes: 'Like Olaf Skoogfors
Olaf Skoogfors
Olaf Skoogfors was an artist, metalsmith and educator until his death in 1975. He was born in a backwoods iron center in Sweden, 1930. He and his family came to the United States and settled in Wilmington, Delaware, and later in Philadelphia while he was a small child. He thought he would follow...
and Toni Goessler-Snyder before her, she can claim to be a constructivist
Constructivism (art)
Constructivism was an artistic and architectural philosophy that originated in Russia beginning in 1919, which was a rejection of the idea of autonomous art. The movement was in favour of art as a practice for social purposes. Constructivism had a great effect on modern art movements of the 20th...
whose passion for geometric forms allows her to create works that are compositions in themselves - independent of the wearer.'
Kate Dobbs Ariail writing in Metalsmith about the Mint Museum of Craft & Design's exhibit; "Sculptural Radiance: The Jewelry and Objects of Linda MacNeil" notes that "MacNeil evidences an unusually nuanced appreciation of her material. Her use of a variety of types of glass, along with various finishing techniques, gives her an unexpectedly broad palette of hue, value, tint and reflectivity, so that her crisp design takes on a painterly tone." Commenting on the same exhibition, Joan Falconer Byrd, professor of art at Western Carolina University
Western Carolina University
Western Carolina University is a coeducational public university located in Cullowhee, North Carolina, United States. The university is a constituent campus of the University of North Carolina system....
, notes that 'MacNeil commands an extensive vocabulary of metal fabricating techniques.' For much of her career, MacNeil favored brass that she then had electroplated with gold.
MacNeil individually casts and hand carves or otherwise manipulates each of the glass elements in her neck pieces, ear rings and brooches. Art Jewelry Today published in 2003, identifies MacNeil as a pioneer in the use of glass in contemporary jewelry, while making reference to historic precedents.
One of the glass making techniques Linda employs is lost wax casting with pâte de verre (see Nile Grass below)to create intricate shapes with great surface detail. Her work was chosen as an example of this technique, which was very popular in the nineteenth century Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
movement, by Jeffrey B. Snyder in Art Jewelry Today 2
Other pieces use polished Vitriolite (see Elements below), a dense, opaque, industrial glass made prior to the 1940s, often in pieces that are a reinterpretation of Art Deco; some, such as the Lucent Lines series (see below), use acid-polished glass with gold connecting rods drilled through using the visual distortions of glass to create shifting geometric patterns. Some rigid collars from the late 1980s and early 1990s were inspired in part by Bronze Age Celtic neckpieces and Egyptian jewelry while others again reference the Art Deco period.
Examples
|
|
|
|
|-
|Elements 1984
Includes Vitrolite
|Nile Grass 2002
Includes pâte de verre
|Lucent Lines 2004>
Acid polished clear glass;
mirror laminated yellow glass.
Polished cream and black Vitrolite glass.
Gold plated.
Series, start date
Many of the series have persisted and developed over several decades- Elements, late 1970s
- Lucent Lines, 1980s
- Neck collars, 1980's
- Capsules, late 1980s
- Ram's Horn, 1990s
- Mesh, 1990s
- Nexus, late 1990s
- Floral, 2000's
- Lotus, late 1990s
- Mirrored, 1990s
Public Collections
Primary source- Cleveland Museum of ArtCleveland Museum of ArtThe Cleveland Museum of Art is an art museum situated in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on Cleveland's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian art, the museum houses a diverse permanent collection of more than 43,000...
, Cleveland, OH - Corning Museum of GlassCorning Museum of GlassThe Corning Museum of Glass, in Corning, New York, explores every facet of glass, including art, history, culture, science and technology, craft, and design....
, Corning, NY - Detroit Institute of ArtDetroit Institute of ArtsThe Detroit Institute of Arts is a renowned art museum in the city of Detroit. In 2003, the DIA ranked as the second largest municipally owned museum in the United States, with an art collection valued at more than one billion dollars...
, Detroit, MI - Les Archives de la Cristallerie Daum, Nancy and Paris, France
- Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of ArtThe Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, New York, NY - Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Charlotte, NC
- Montreal Museum of Fine ArtsMontreal Museum of Fine ArtsThe Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is a major museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1860, making it Canada's oldest art institution, it moved to its current location in 1912 thanks to a large donation from businessman James Ross....
, Montreal, Canada]], New York, NY (Formerly, American Craft Museum) - Museum of Fine Arts, BostonMuseum of Fine Arts, BostonThe Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
, MA - Philadelphia Museum of ArtPhiladelphia Museum of ArtThe Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
, Philadelphia, PA - Racine Art MuseumRacine Art MuseumThe Racine Art Museum and RAM’s Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts are located in Racine, Wisconsin.-History:The Charles A. Wustum Museum was founded in 1941. Jennie E. Wustum, widow of Charles A. Wustum, donated their house, property and small trust fund to the City of Racine, Wisconsin...
, Racine, WI - Renwick GalleryRenwick GalleryThe Renwick Gallery is a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, located in Washington, D.C., and focuses on American craft and decorative arts from the 19th century to the 21st century...
, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC - Rhode Island School of Design MuseumRhode Island School of Design MuseumRhode Island School of Design Museum is a prominent art museum in Providence, Rhode Island affiliated with the well-known Rhode Island School of Design...
, Providence, RI - J. B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY
- Toledo Museum of ArtToledo Museum of ArtThe Toledo Museum of Art is an internationally known art museum located in the Old West End neighborhood of Toledo, Ohio, United States. The museum was founded by Toledo glassmaker Edward Drummond Libbey in 1901, and moved to its present location, a Greek revival building designed by Edward B....
, Toledo, OH - Victoria and Albert MuseumVictoria and Albert MuseumThe Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, London, England