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