William Gudenrath is a glassblower, scholar, author, lecturer, and teacher. He is recognized internationally as one of the foremost authorities on glassmaking techniques of the ancient world through the 18th century. He has spent many decades studying specific works in glass in an attempt to determine how they were made. As such, he was monikered the “glass detective” by the Associated Press after the release of his first electronic resource, The Techniques of Renaissance Venetian Glassworking, in 2016. In 2019, he released a follow-up resource, The Techniques of Renaissance Venetian-Style Glassworking, that focuses on Renaissance-style Venetian glass.
Although much of Gudenrath’s life has been dedicated to the material he fell in love with at the age of 11 upon being introduced to glass through a chemistry set, Gudenrath took a detour in 1974 to earn a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Texas and in 1978 to earn his Master of Music degree from the Julliard School. He, along with his wife Amy Schwartz, moved to Corning in 1995 to design, build, program, and lead The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass, where Gudenrath continues to serve as the resident advisor.
In addition to his numerous contributions in print and video on many aspects of glass history, Gudenrath is co-chairman, with Lino Tagliapietra, of the technical committee of Venetian Glass Study Days at the Istituo Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arit, in Venice, and serves on the International Advisory Committee UrbanGlass in Brooklyn, N.Y. His works are sold in the Museum Shops, as well as other exclusive stores and galleries nationwide.
