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Artist / Studio

Studio

Emil Frei Associates, Inc.
St. Louis, Missouri

Birth Year: 1869

Death Year: 1942

Biography: Following is a brief history of the Emil Frei Stained Glass company written by Martha Ramsey Clevenger of the Missouri Historical Sociaty. (Jefferson Memorial Building, Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri 63112). This appears as the introduction to the book "EMIL FREI, JR., COLLECTION REGISTER". The firm of Emil Frei, Inc., founded in St. Louis in 1898 and still operating today, has been one of the leading companies in the field of stained glass and mosaics in the United States. Founded by Bavarian-born artist, Emil Frei, Sr., (1869-1942), Emil Frei, Inc., has remained a traditional-style association of craftsmen and artists under the leadership of three generations of Freis, each of whom has made and overseen major artistic contributions to the field of stained glass and / or mosaic design, especially in the realm of the liturgical arts. Emil Frei, Sr., was born in Bavaria in 1869 and studied at the Munich Academy of art. Upon Completion of his studies he emigrated to New York to escape the universal military service then required in Germany. There he was joined by his fiance, Emma Mueller of Heidelberg, whom he soon married. Shortly thereafter the Freis moved to San Francisco, where Emil, Sr., worked as a mural painter. In 1898, Emil Frei was invited to come to St. Louis to undertake the design and execution of stained glass for a large new church then under construction. This project, the stained glass windows for the St. Frances Xavier (College) Church at 239 N. Grand, did not, however, come to fruition until a generation later when it was undertaken by Frei’s son and successor, Emil Frei, Jr. Emil Frei, Sr., was initially employed in St. Louis as an artist for A.H. Wallis. In 1900 he opened his own stained glass company, Emil Frei Art Glass, Co., at 19 S. Broadway. In 1903 the business moved to 3715 California Avenue, and then in 1907 to 3934 S. Grand, where it remained until 1972. From there, it moved to 1017 West Adams, where the company currently resides. Emil Frei was assisted in these early years by his wife Emma, who served at varying times as vice-president, treasurer, and secretary of Emil Frei Art Glass, Co., until her retirement in 1930. The Emil Frei Art Glass, Co., specializing in Munich antique glass figured style windows, grew quickly, By 1909 the company employed fifteen artists and nine glass workers in studios in Munich and St. Louis. Windows designed for the Holy Family Church in Watertown, New York, won grand prize at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. It was in the field of mosaic design, however, where Emil Frei, Sr., made his best remembered contribution to liturgical art. In the 1920s he was commissioned to design the mosaics to the new St. Louis Cathedral on Lindell Boulevard. To undertake this project, Emil Frei, in conjunction with the Berlin art glass and mosaic firm of Puhl U. Wagner, founded Ravenna Mosaics, Inc. (later known as The Ravenna Company), in 1924. Until 1929 there was little distinction between Ravenna Mosaics and Emil Frei Art Glass. The companies shared quarters at the latter’s South Grand location, and Emil Frei and his wife Emma occupied the respective offices of president and vice-president in both firms. In 1929 Ravenna Mosaics separated from Emil Frei Art Glass and moved to New York for a period of ten years. Upon its return to St. Louis in 1939, the Ravenna Company, now under the leadership of Paul Heudeck, again shared quarters with Emil Frei, Inc., until the end of World War II when it moved to its own location at 5205-09 South Grand. In 1930, after the departure of Ravenna Mosaics, Inc., for New York, the Emil Frei Art Glass, Co., reorganized as Emil Frei, Inc. Emil Frei, Sr., remained president, Emma Frei retired as vice-president in favor of her son, Emil Frei, Jr., and Julius Gewinner became treasurer. Both Julius Gewinner and Emil Frei, Jr., had joined Emil Frei Art Glass as artists in 1917. Gewinner moved into the business end of the operation, becoming a department manager in 1926 and production manager in 1927. From 1930 until his retirement in 1968, he served as treasurer, and after the death of Emil Frei, Sr., in 1942, he also assumed the duties of vice-president. Gewinner’s extended tenure as treasurer and later vice-president, helped give Emil Frei, Inc., a remarkable degree of continuity. Emil Frei, Jr., was the other pillar of the firm between 1930 and his death in 1967. Born on 1896, he studied art at Washington University before joining his father’s firm in 1917. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s he exerted a significant artistic influence within Emil Frei, Inc., as he worked to recreate the vivid and colorful 13th century medallion style stained glass windows like those at the Cathedral of Chartres. It fell to him to design the windows at St. Francis Xavier (College) Church in St. Louis, a project that did much to build his reputation as one of the foremost designers of stained glass in the United States. After his father’s death in 1942, Emil Frei, Jr., assumed the presidency of Emil Frei, Inc., retaining that office until 1963, when he became chairman of the board until his death in 1967. Under the leadership of Emil Frei, Jr., Emil Frei, Inc. rose to even greater heights as a new generation of artists associated with the firm and brought new techniques and different artistic perspectives to the stained glass medium. Due in part to the disruption of World War II and the subsequent liquidation of Emil Frei, Inc’s., assets in Germany, the focus shifted from the German figure style windows to the modernistic and often abstract stained glass windows designed by the company’s St. Louis based artists. The first modern windows were designed by Robert Harmon, who joined Emil Frei, Inc., in 1938, and remained with the company until his retirement in 1968. Harmon was responsible for some of the most innovative and creative windows and mosaics that came out of Emil Frei, Inc., during the post World War II years. From the end of World War II through the 1960s, the work of artists Francis Deck, Milton Frenzel, William Schickel, Joan Velligan, Rodney Winfield and Siegfried Reinhardt stood along side that of Harmon as pioneering efforts in the stained glass medium and in the realm of mosaic, mural and sculpture design as well. In addition, Emil Frei, Jr’s., son, Robert Frei, who joined the company as an artist in 1946, exerted comparable influence. In 1963 Robert Frei assumed the presidency of Emil Frei, Inc., and ran the company under the tutelage of his father. During the beginning of Robert Frei’s presidency, the firm began to seek new and more varied outlets for the stained glass medium, experimenting with more new techniques and the use of stained glass in secular as well as religious contexts. After the death of Emil Frei, Jr., in 1967, and following the retirement of Julius Gewinner and Robert Harmon shortly thereafter, an era came to an end. Nevertheless, Robert Frei, with the assistance of his new vice-president, artist Francis Deck, continued to lead the company that his grandfather had founded. In 1972, the company moved to 1017 W. Adams in Kirkwood and is today still in operation.

Opening Date:1898

Designers:

     Frei, Emil Sr.
     Frei, Emil Jr.
     Frei, Robert
     Deck, Francis

Main Window
Window Name: Main Window
Building Name and City: Sacred Heart Major Seminary
St. Francis de Sales
St. Steven
Window Name: St. Steven
St. Paul
Window Name: St. Paul
St. Stanislaus Kostka
St. Aloysius
Window Name: St. Aloysius
St. John Vianney, Cure of Ars
St. Thomas Aquinas
Window Name: St. Thomas Aquinas
St. Vincent de Paul
Window Name: St. Vincent de Paul
Building Name and City: Sacred Heart Major Seminary
The Sacred Heart of Jesus
Building Name and City: Sacred Heart Major Seminary
Christ the King
Window Name: Christ the King
Building Name and City: Sacred Heart Major Seminary
The Joyful Mysteries
Building Name and City: Sacred Heart Major Seminary
Emblems of the Eucharist
Window of Christ the Divine Child (Childhood of Jesus)
Building Name and City: Sacred Heart Major Seminary
Christ the Teacher
Window Name: Christ the Teacher
Building Name and City: Sacred Heart Major Seminary
Window of Love
Window Name: Window of Love
Building Name and City: Sacred Heart Major Seminary
St. John Berchmans, S.J.
Window of the Parables
Building Name and City: Sacred Heart Major Seminary
Passion of Christ
Window Name: Passion of Christ
Building Name and City: Sacred Heart Major Seminary
Resurrection and Glorification of Christ
Building Name and City: Sacred Heart Major Seminary
The Foundation of the Church
Building Name and City: Sacred Heart Major Seminary
St. Peter
Window Name: St. Peter
Building Name and City: Sacred Heart Major Seminary
St. Joseph Holding the Infant Christ
Building Name and City: Sacred Heart Major Seminary
The Immaculate Conception
Building Name and City: Sacred Heart Major Seminary
St. Michael the Archangel
St. Charles Borromeo
St. Ambrose of Milan
Pope St. Gregory the Great
Cross and other symbols
Building Name and City: Sacred Heart Major Seminary
St. John the Baptist
Building Name and City: Sacred Heart Major Seminary
St. John the Evangelist
Building Name and City: Sacred Heart Major Seminary
Christ the Miracle Worker
Building Name and City: Sacred Heart Major Seminary
To Feed the Hungry
Window Name: To Feed the Hungry
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
Omega
Window Name: Omega
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
Matrimony
Window Name: Matrimony
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
Holy Orders
Window Name: Holy Orders
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
Extreme Unction
Window Name: Extreme Unction
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
Penance
Window Name: Penance
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
Holy Eucharist
Window Name: Holy Eucharist
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
Confirmation
Window Name: Confirmation
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
Baptism
Window Name: Baptism
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
Alpha
Window Name: Alpha
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
Ornamental
Window Name: Ornamental
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
Musical Scroll
Window Name: Musical Scroll
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
Blessed are the Merciful
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
To Admonish the Sinner
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
To Instruct the Ingnorant
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
To Councel the Doubtful
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
To Comfort the Sorrowful
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
To Bear Wrongs Patiently
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
To Forgive Injuries
Window Name: To Forgive Injuries
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
To Pray for the Living and the Dead
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
Going, Therefore, Teach Ye All Nations
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
Give Drink to the Thirsty
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
To Harbor the Harborless
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
To Ransom Captives
Window Name: To Ransom Captives
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
To Visit the Sick
Window Name: To Visit the Sick
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
To Bury the Dead
Window Name: To Bury the Dead
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
To Clothe the Naked
Window Name: To Clothe the Naked
Building Name and City: St. Andrew Catholic Church
The Annunciation
Window Name: The Annunciation
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
The Visitation
Window Name: The Visitation
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
The Birth of Christ
Window Name: The Birth of Christ
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
Guardian Angel
Window Name: Guardian Angel
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
Music
Window Name: Music
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
Eucharist
Window Name: Eucharist
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
Music Window - St. Cecilia, King David, Pope Gregory, Jubal
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
Baptism of Christ
Window Name: Baptism of Christ
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
Music
Window Name: Music
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
Archangel Gabriel
Window Name: Archangel Gabriel
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
The Resurrection
Window Name: The Resurrection
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
The Ascension
Window Name: The Ascension
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
Assumption of the Blessed Mother
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
Coronation of Mary Queen of Heaven
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
Non-Pictorial, Sacristy
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
Carrying the Cross
Window Name: Carrying the Cross
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
Crowning of Thorns
Window Name: Crowning of Thorns
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
The Sourging at the Pillar
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
The Agony in the Garden
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
Non-Pictorial, Music Room
Window Name: Non-Pictorial, Music Room
Non-Pictorial
Window Name: Non-Pictorial
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
Non-Pictorial Rose
Window Name: Non-Pictorial Rose
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
Non-Pictorial
Window Name: Non-Pictorial
Building Name and City: St. Mary's Church
Christ
Window Name: Christ
Titles of the Virgin Mary in the Litany of Loreto #1
Titles of the Virgin Mary in the Litany of Loreto #2
Passion Symbols
Window Name: Passion Symbols
The Four Gospel Writers, and The Four Cardinal Virtues
Creation
Window Name: Creation
Felician Sisters Crest
Te Deum
Window Name: Te Deum
Apostles
Window Name: Apostles
Seasons of the Church
The Mysteries of the Rosary Part 2
The Mysteries of the Rosary Part 1
The Seven Sacraments
The Eucharist Part 1
The Eucharist Part 2
The Beatitudes Part 1
The Beatitudes Part 2
Parables
Window Name: Parables
The Seven Spiritual Works of Mercy
The Trinity
Window Name: The Trinity
The Seven Corporal Works of Mercy
The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Old Testament Prefigurations of Jesus
Objects Used in the Church and for Special Devotions
The Three Theological Virtues and The Three Vows taken by the Felician Sisters
Arts and Sciences
Window Name: Arts and Sciences
Praise the Lord
Window Name: Praise the Lord
The Nine Choirs of Angels
Mary Queen of Heaven