Illuminating Irish American Identity: Harry Clarke Stained Glass Studios' Ecclesiastical Commissions in the USA c.1950-1970

Abstract

Clarke Studios was established in 1930 and operated as a business making stained glass for more than forty years after the death of its founder, the artist Harry Clarke (1889-1931). In that period windows were made for clients worldwide, the majority of which (more than six hundred) were executed for clients in the United States. Research into the Clarke Studios business archive reveals that the primary source of patronage was a cohort of Irish American priests working in California. This discovery directed the goals of this research, namely, to discover how Clarke Studios operated as a business to sell its work in the U.S., and, to determine the motivation behind the patron's decisions to acquire Irish stained glass for their churches. The company built on the Harry Clarke 'brand' and although they marketed their work through advertising, the greatest selling point was already installed work promoted by existing clients. To find the motivation behind the purchases this research takes a joint material culture and art-historical approach to investigate how Irishness and Catholicism were expressed by Irish American priests through the display of Irish-made art objects in religious buildings. This thesis argues that the choice of Clarke Studios as a supplier was driven by two aspirations. Firstly, the desire of patrons to enhance an aspect of Irish American cultural identity by having high quality Irish craft on display in their churches. The second aspiration was more nationalistic, where patrons wished to support Ireland economically by buying Irish-made products. The findings of this research enlightens aspects of the making and meaning of this Irish craft, showing that for a cohort of Irish American priests it was a valued way of making a positive and affirming statement about what it was to be Irish in twentieth-century America.