Suellen Glashausser Artists' Books Collection

Dates

1980-2000

Scope and Content Note

This Special Collection is a collection of artists’ books executed between 1980 and 2000. The items are made from a wide variety of materials from cigar labels to glassine to soda cans. Some of the works are signed; some are signed and dated. All save one are unique works. The collection of Suellen Glashausser artists' books was a gift from Charles Glashausser in 2002. All italicized quotations have been taken from captions Suellen Glashausser prepared for her display in "Preaching What We Practice," an exhibition at the John Cotton Dana Library in Newark, New Jersey (November 1996 - January 1997) accompanying the New Jersey Book Arts Symposium.

Extent

10 Cubic Feet (74 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Biographical Sketch of Suellen Glashausser

Contributed by Romina Gutierrez and edited by Debra Schiff

Suellen O’Brien Glashausser was born in New York City on March 17, 1945, the daughter of William James and Agatha (neé Walsh) O’Brien, and died in Highland Park, New Jersey on December 27, 2000. She married Charles Glashausser in September 1965. They had two children, Alexander and Allegra. Glashausser was a well-known fiber and book artist, as well as a teacher of visual arts. She began creating artists’ books in the 1980s after spending most of her career producing large constructions and paintings. Glashausser received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Arts from Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York in 1965. She continued her studies in Paris, France, at the École Lemmonier d'Art Appliqué, earning in 1976, a “Degree Française Superier” from the Sorbonne. In 1969, she received her Master of Art in Textile Design from the University of California at Berkeley. Later that year, she and Charles Glashausser moved to Highland Park, New Jersey.

Glashausser began her teaching career in the 1970s as a part-time instructor at Middlesex County College in Edison, New Jersey; the New Jersey Center for the Visual Arts in Summit; and Livingston College, Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. From 1974 until her death, she taught at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey, first as a part-time instructor and from 1983 as an assistant professor. Throughout her career, she taught and planned workshops, and served as a lecturer, panelist, and exhibit juror in the United States, Belgium, Japan, and France. A prolific artist, Glashausser exhibited widely in solo and group shows throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, and India. Her exhibits are numerous, and accounts of them reside in the Suellen Glashausser Papers archive in Special Collections. Along with her contributions to books on fiber arts and her art reviews, Glashausser’s best-known writing work is the basketry art book Plaiting: Step-by-Step, written with Carol Westfall.

At the time of her death, Glashausser was represented by Amos Eno Gallery, New York City.

References:

Lee, Anne. “Don't Judge a Book that Lacks a Cover.” The Star Ledger, October 21, 2000, Sec. In the Towns, p. 1.

Who’s Who in American Art. 23rd edition, 1999-2000. New Providence, NJ: Marquis Who’s Who, 1999.

Who’s Who in the East. 23rd edition, 1991-1992. Wilmette, IL: Marquis Who’s Who, 1990.

Arrangement Note

Each work is individually housed in its own box or folder, with the exception of the Columns books and the Gardens books. Items that have digital images associated with them will include links named “Digital item” within their descriptions below. Torrado Natural is not part of the collection given to the libraries by Charles Glashausser. However, because it is a Suellen Glashausser work, it is included in this finding aid following the numbered list of boxes. It is assigned the box number "00." Torrado Natural is a cataloged work and its call number is listed with its entry below.