Paul A. Dufour received a BA in Fine Arts from the University of New Hampshire in 1950 and a BFA in Painting from Yale University in 1952 under his major professor Josef Albers. Because of the influence by this great Bauhaus master, he became proficient in the interaction of color and its application in various media. He also studied under Willem de Kooning, Stuart Davis and Abraham Ratner while at Yale. His first teaching position was as Assistant Professor at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. In 1955 he went to Louisiana State University to teach design. He became a full professor in 1968 and retired as professor emeritus in 1985. During his tenure at LSU he taught undergraduate and graduate courses in design and in 1967 he organized the first glass program offering a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from a major university. In 1971 a Masters of Fine Arts degree was approved by the graduate school. During his tenure at Louisiana State University he received seven awards from the Graduate Council, among which three were sabbaticals. On one
sabbatical he collaborated with sumie painters in Japan, and on another he researched watercolor of seascapes in Italy while also investigating medieval glass in Europe. Dufour began to focus on glass as a result of a commission that he was awarded for the school chapel at the Catholic Life Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1963. At this time, he was also asked to
design the furnishings for the chapel, including a bronze and mosaic tabernacle. As a result of this early work, he was then awarded many other commissions in glass, mosaics, tapestries and bronze. One of
the largest commissioned works, executed in 1974, was two thousand square feet of stained glass for Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Dufour gained an international reputation as a multi-disciplinary artist and his work is included in many private and public collections throughout the world. Outstanding among his honors are inclusion of his glass work in Glaskunst, Kassel, Germany and Vicointer, Valencia, Spain for the dedication of
their museums. Paul A. Dufour passed away on September 6 2008, leaving an incredible legacy of artwork.
Samuel Joseph Corso received his B.F.A. in Painting and Drawing in 1975 from Louisiana State University, where he studied under Tom Cavanaugh and Harvey Harris. In 1977 he was awarded an M.F.A. in Stained Glass, also from Louisiana State University, where his major Professor was Paul A. Dufour. Because of this strong influence by both painters and designers, and a keen sense of color, he has excelled in the field as a multi-media artist. He continues to create in stained glass, mosaics, bronze sculpture, watercolor and oil pastel on paper, and executes commissions in all media. Adding to Corso's experience as a multi-faceted artist, he has taught drawing, painting and design courses for Louisiana State University, the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and the American Crafts Council. He continues to pursue a career in the studio arts, competing for inclusion in local, regional and national juried exhibitions. He has won numerous awards for his works, including three Unrestricted Artist Fellowship from the Louisiana State Arts Council. He has also been invited to display his work in several exhibitions hosted by universities, museums, and galleries throughout the United States. Corso joined Paul A. Dufour, his mentor, as a partner in 1977 in the studio corporation that Dufour founded in 1964. He has since become president and sole owner upon Dufour's retirement in 1992. Through this effort, Corso has designed and fabricated numerous commissions for private and public collections. Among these are eleven hundred square feet of stained glass for Jesus the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Monroe, Louisiana, and one thousand square feet of stained glass for St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Future commissions include several liturgical and residential works in a variety of media. Corso has established a reputation as a multi-disciplinary artist whose work is included in many private and public collections throughout the United States.
