Robert Pinart Papers

Collection

Identifier: MS-0198

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

These personal papers of an award-winning 20th century stained glass artist known for abstract designs are divided into four series:

(1) Biographical and Personal Information, 1955-2017

(2) World War II Sketches and Artwork, 1939-2011

(3) Stained Glass Installation Files, 1952-2016

(4) Illustrated Published Works, 1956-1975

Dates

Creation: Circa 1939-2017

Creator

Pinart, Robert, 1927-2017 (Person)

Language of Materials

Collection materials are in English, French, and German.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for public research. Researchers must make an appointment to view this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

The Copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. The user agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Corning Museum of Glass and the Rakow Research Library against all claims, demands, costs and expenses incurred by copyright infringement or any other legal or regulatory cause of action arising from the use of Library materials.

Biographical / Historical

Robert Pinart (1927-2017) was a French stained glass and dalle de verre artist, whose career spanned from the 1940s through 2008. He is known for his bold abstract expressionist style and for his mastery of stained glass coloring and painting. He contributed to important restoration work in post-World War II Europe, and he completed hundreds of original pieces for public and private, religious and secular organizations throughout the United States.

Pinart was born in Paris on April 1, 1927. He appears to have served with the French military in the postwar occupation of Austria. Pinart showed an early talent for the arts. After preliminary studies, he went on to study art at the Ecole des Beaux Art, and to work under several well-known French glass artists, such as Max Ingrand (1908-1969), Auguste Labouret (1871-1964) and Jean Barillet (1912-1997). Labouret innovated the dalle de verre method of stained glass window production, which strongly influenced Pinart. It was through these studios that Pinart contributed to the post-war effort to restore and replace damaged European stained glass. Of note, Pinart worked on the restoration of the Basilica of Saint-Quentin in Saint-Quentin, Aisne, France.

Pinart immigrated to the United States in 1951, and he was one of the first artists to use dalle de verre techniques in America. He continued his glass art career by first working for the Payne-Spiers studio. He went on to work for the Rambusch Decorating Company from 1952-1956, where he focused on liturgical pieces. Synagogues, churches, and related organizations form a major component of his portfolio, from his Rambusch days to his later career. His first freelance commission, in 1956, was the design of windows for St. Luke’s Episcopal Parish in Darien, Connecticut.

In addition to working with Cummings Stained Glass Studios, Wilmark Studios, and other well-known glass studios, he also worked with renowned American architects, such as Percival Goodman. The Stained Glass Association of America awarded Pinart its first Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993. He was also a Senior Advisor for the American Glass Guild. In 2008 he completed his final commission, St. Aedan’s Catholic Church in Pearl River, New York.

Pinart was briefly married to the ceramicist Jean Nison. He died on October 1, 2017 in Nyack, New York.