Celtic Studios (1948–1993)
Celtic Studios was the first firm producing stained glass in Wales in any quantity. The firm was established in 1948 in Swansea, by Howard Martin and his cousin Hubert Thomas, although they had also worked together in the 1930s. They worked in the tradition of the Arts & Crafts movement, and brought a degree of originality to their design. Their work in the late 1950s and 60s demonstrated a willingness to embrace a more modern aesthetic with full-coloured windows, suggesting the modernist inclinations of Howard Martin and John Edwards.
The Studio was responsible for more than 650 windows during its existence, many of which are in south Wales, but also in north Wales, England and North America. A third of their output, including some of their best work, was exported to Canada.
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Further reading
Maurice Broady, A Vision Fulfilled: The story of Celtic Studios and Swansea's architectural glass tradition (Swansea: West Glamorgan Archive Service, 2010).
Maurice Broady, 'An Undervalued Welsh Art: Celtic Studios' Stained Glass 1933-1922' Minerva, vol. IV (1996), 3-13.
Maurice Broady, 'Departed glory. Celtic Studios: the firm and its glass 1948-1992' The Journal of Stained Glass, vol. XXI, no. X (1997), 44-67.
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