Robert Held (b. 1943)
Bio
Robert Held was born in Santa Ana, California. He holds a Masters in Fine Arts from the University of California. Upon graduating, Robert was offered a position as Head of Ceramics at the Sheridan College – School of Design. In 1968, after a visit to the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, Robert Held discovered a new love: the art of glassblowing. He returned to Sheridan College inspired and succeeded in launching Canada’s first college level hot glass program in 1969. This program allowed many Canadian artists to become skilled in this medium, and crowned Robert Held as the pioneer of art glass in Canada.
Eventually, Mr. Held left the teaching world, and in 1978 he began his own glass studio known as Skookum Art Glass Inc based out of Calgary, AB and operated there until 1987. At this time, he moved to Vancouver, BC. We purchased our poppy piece at his studio in Kitsalano before it closed. This piece is inspired by the lush French country gardens of Claude Monet’s home in Giverny, France. Held has taken the classical impressionist style to a new level by combining subtle background colours with red poppies.
Works of Art
Additional Information
Blue Green (from the Art Nouveau Series)
Blown Glass
12 in high by 9 in diameter ( 31 cm x 23 cm)
Provenance: Rubaiyat Gallery
Poppies (from the Flower Series)
Blown Glass
9 in high by 11.5 in diameter (23 cm x 29 cm)
Provenance: Purchase from the Artist
