Have you ever wondered where you can go to see glass collections? There are many museums across the country that have glass objects as part of their collection. The Barry Museum, of Old Dominion University Virginia, is one of them.

The Barry Art Museum at Old Dominion University announced a major gift from the Leah and Richard Waitzer Foundation in June 2022. The late Leah and Richard Waitzer’s art glass acquisitions consist of 165 works in 20th-century and contemporary glass sculpture. The gift doubled the Museum’s holdings in glass. The considerable collection chronicles design masters such as Louis Comfort Tiffany, Frederick Carder, Émile Gallé and Nancy Daum Frères. There is a particular emphasis on early studio glass sculptures: Twelve artworks alone track the career of Harvey Littleton, considered the founder of the American studio glass movement. Other early innovators and pioneers represented in the acquisitions include Dominick Labino, Marvin Liposfsky, Toots Zynsky, and Therman Statom. The Waitzers judiciously followed the development of studio glass in America and abroad. Their collection include works by European artists who were influencing their American counterparts, such as Lino Tagliapietra, Erwin Eisch, and Czech sculptors Jaroslava Brychtová and Stanislav Libenský.

“The Waitzer gift will complement the extensive glass holdings of the Museum, creating one of the most prominent collections of 20th century and contemporary glass sculpture in the United States,” said Barry Art Museum Board President Lewis Webb.

Scott Hansen found the announcement of the glass collection gift mentioning Frederick Carder.  So, he went to the museum website and did a search for Carder. There Scott found a few pieces of Carder glass included in the 20th century glass collection. It is nice to note he is included as a “designated master”! The glass collection is largely American Contemporary and is quite stunning. In the Exhibitions tab, there is a video about the exhibition of the glass collection.

Old Dominion is in Norfolk, Virginia, which is also the home of the Chrysler Museum, another museum with an extensive glass collection. Maybe a visit to Norfolk will be on your list of things to do in 2025!