Bendheim’s President Receives Second Lifetime Achievement Award

Robert Jayson Honored by Stained Glass Association of America

Robert Jayson, President

We congratulate our company’s President – Robert Jayson – this year’s recipient of the Stained Glass Association of America’s (SGAA) Lifetime Achievement Award.  The recognition honors Robert’s involvement in the art glass industry for the past four decades and his service to the craft.

“I’m truly humbled by their appreciation and remain committed to promoting the art and the industry,” said Robert.

Robert is the third generation to own and manage Bendheim. In this role, he is continuing the company’s 90-year-old legacy, together with his two brothers, Donald and Steven, as well as his son, Ben, now representing Bendheim’s fourth generation.

The company was founded in 1927 in New York City by Robert’s maternal grandparents, Sem and Margaret Bendheim. Established as an importer of European specialty art glass in the U.S., Bendheim remains the oldest importer of colored glass in North America. Today, its Lamberts^® art glass can be found in contemporary architecture – from airports and train stations to hospitals and private residences.

“Our parents and grandparents instilled the love of glass in all of us, my brothers and myself, since we were kids. We learned to share the excitement they felt when viewing a beautiful sheet of hand-made glass or a beautifully designed and crafted stained glass window,” said Robert. “This passion for the material has carried me personally and Bendheim as a company through the years and generations.”

Robert is the only American to have worked in Glashütte Lamberts of Germany, the worldwide leader in mouth-blown art glass. He was a member of a glassblowing team and participated in the art of crafting cylinders and sheets of blown glass.

In 2001, Robert spearheaded the creation of Bendheim’s exterior glass division, a premier provider of engineered glass wall systems and facades. He was instrumental in the development of the largest channel glass installation in the U.S. – the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, M.O. by Steven Holl Architects.

All the while, he remained committed to Bendheim’s stained glass roots. He has presented at numerous art glass conferences and contributed to articles published in The New York Times, Old House Journal, Modern Woodworking, Faith & Form, and Stained Glass Quarterly.

This is Robert’s second lifetime award from a major glass organization. Last year, he received the Nicholas Parrendo Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the American Glass Guild (AGG).