Timo Sarpaneva (1926-2006) Finnish, (6) Mid Century Modern Drinking Glasses. All matching, designed to fit together for ease of transport and storage. 

Condition: Minor imperfections within some of the glasses. Overall great. 

Size: 3 1/4 x 6 in. 

Timo Tapani Sarpaneva was born on October 31st, 1926 in Helsinki, Finland into a family of blacksmiths, and his early interest in molten metal eventually translated into a love of glassmaking. Sarpaneva graduated from the Institute for Industrial Arts in 1948, and was later given an honorary Doctorate by them after they had become Aalto University. Shortly after he began to work with glass, he won the Iittala competition in engraved glass and was hired by the company in 1951 as a designer and director of exhibitions. He won his first Grand Prix at the 1954 Milan Triennale for his clear glass series, and in 1956 Sarpaneva embraced colored glass in a series of plates, bottles, and other decorative objects. His new logo design for the company won him his second Grand Prix at the 1957 Milan Triennale, where he also received a Grand Prix for his design of the Finnish exhibition. He began to teach at his alma mater in the late 1960s, including a course in linoleum block printing for students of textile design, and became full professor in 1976. He worked as an artistic director for the Swedish textile company Kinnasand between 1964 and 1972, after which he started a long-term association with the German porcelain producer Rosenthal. He commuted weekly between Helsinki and Murano in Italy for six years in the 1990s, making mostly sculptures with the Venini glassmakers and the renowned craftsman Pino Signoretto. He designed glass vases and silver dinnerware for the presidential residence Mäntyniemi that was finished in 1993. Sarpaneva worked intermittently with metal, wood, textiles, ceramics, and porcelain (china) throughout his life, but glass remained his main medium from his earliest awards for much of his life, both in industrial design and in display art objects. Although he trained as a graphic designer, he spent the majority of his life in industrial design while seeing himself more as an artist than a designer. Frequently shy and dismissive of his own personal accomplishments, he is considered one of the most influential Finnish designers, sculptors, and educators in modern Finnish history, and since his death on October 6th, 2006 his pieces have become more and more sought by collectors, even the most utilitarian and basic of which frequently find a market due to his long impact on Scandinavian mid century modern aesthetics.

Minor imperfections within some of the glasses. Overall great.