Charles Lotton Gold Pulled Drape Vase (1974)

Charles Lotton's creative experiment is a Gold Pulled Draped Vase from his early years — 1974. It was purchased from the Petri estate in Nashville several years ago. The large vase (9" x 6", weighs about 4 lbs.) is "energetic" and bound up in a fantasy of golden threads and cross markings, delicately executed with great precision and flair by the artist.

Charles Gerald Lotton (born October 21, 1935 — passed on September 17, 2021) was a contemporary glass artist and Master of glass making and daring new styles in art glass. This piece appears to have been made by Charles Lotton during the last years of his contract with the renowned Lillian Nassau, the "doyenne" of New York antiques dealers. Nassau was an expert on the works of the Tiffany Studios. She pioneered recognition and appreciation of Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles and identified the young and aspiring Charles Lotton as the worthy successor to Louis Comfort Tiffany.

In 1970, Lotton built a small glass studio behind his house in Sauk Village, Illinois. In June 1971, Lotton sold his first glass to C. D. Peacock, a downtown Chicago jeweler.

A chance meeting with Dr. Ed McConnell during a visit to Corning, New York, resulted in an introduction to Lillian Nassau. Paul Nassau, Lillian’s son, and Lotton signed an exclusive five-year contract in 1972. Lotton leased a former lumber yard in Lansing, Illinois, to serve as his studio. In 1975, he built a new studio in Lynwood, Illinois, eventually building a glasswork behind his home in Crete, Illinois, in 1982.

By 1977, Lotton had achieved a national reputation and wanted the freedom to sell glass directly to his own distributors. Lotton glass is sold through select retailers like RSB Home and at specialized shows.

Lotton’s glass is in the collections of major museums such as the Art Institute of Chicago, Corning Museum of Glass, High Museum, and the Smithsonian. His work is collected by an interesting assortment of celebrities, business leaders and collectors across the globe.

Early Charles Lotton pieces of this calibre are one-of-a-kind — and this size is unusual given his contractual obligations as described above.

It is a stunning example of Charles' experimental styles and ideas which were to result in unique works of art through 2021. This may have been created at the Lynwood Studio. Lotton collectors or connoisseurs should consider Early Charles Lotton works a "must have." And, while he may be imitated by some, there was (and is!) only one Charles for posterity.