Snowflake Crystal Montage
Materials: Crystal Glass and Aluminum (In the collection of the SS United States Conservancy.)
Donation was made possible by: Bob Forbes, Mark Perry, Carl Wesch, Mario Alvarez-Garcillan, Susan Gibbs, Charles Anderson, Frank Slate Brooks
Snowflake Crystal Montage, Charles Lin Tissot, 1952.
Charles Lin Tissot was an American sculptor and designer active in the United States in the mid 20th century. Born in 1904, Tissot worked primarily with glass and was known for the domestic glassware he produced for Steuben, an American glass art manufacturer located in Central New York.
Tissot’s works are in the collections of museums like the Cooper Hewitt and the Corning Museum of Glass and have been auctioned at galleries worldwide. Tissot’s artistic style “focused on creating objects that returned to the essentials of glasswork – drawing on ancient artistic techniques, applied with modern twists.”*
The Snowflake Crystal Montage as it’s called, was made specifically for the SS United States. Commissioned for the Private Dining Room, the panel featured 17 individualized cut crystal stars (or snowflakes) set in perforated aluminum panels. The panel was also a light fixture, producing incredible lighting effects when passengers dined and adding an atmosphere of luxury and elegance perfect for the mid-century modern vessel. The use of aluminum panels, in many ways, almost harkens back to the design of the SS United States. Serving as a seamless juxtaposition to the aluminum used to build the ship itself, Tissot’s panel melded ideas of engineering excellence with the delicate luxury and comfort that would be associated with the SS United States.
* Smithsonian, https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2017/05/08/a-glass-palace-fit-for-a-bird/