Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Monday, Scott Hansen told us the story of how a negative article in the Chicago Tribune about the Rubloff paperweight collection was turned around. Charles Sweigart of Reinholds, Pennsylvania adds his comments:

Should accolades be provided for the short-sighted, narrow-minded writer of the newspaper article which seemed to create the waves of support culminating in the expansion of the ability of the public to view and admire a first rate collection of glass sculpture? Even a deaf and blind dog will find a bone on occasions.

Monday, March 19, 2012

From Scott Hansen of Briarcliff Manor, New York

Alan –

Last December (Gazette 1357) Bob Weinberg wrote a note in the Gazette directing attention to a derogatory article in the Chicago Tribune about the Rubloff paperweight collection in the Art Institute of Chicago. Following that note, the Tribune received over 300 letters from around the world protesting the article (Gazette 1386). At the time, the Art Institute of Chicago reaffirmed its commitment to the Rubloff collection, which is generally recognized as one of the three premier paperweight collections in the world. (The other two are in the Corning Museum of Glass and the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum in Neenah, Wisconsin.)

Earlier this month the Art Institute put its (or at least its patrons’) money where its mouth is. As a result of generous support from the International Paperweight Society Foundation and L. H. Selman, Ltd. and the involvement of the Wes Clark family, the Art Institute has announced the expansion of the Rubloff paperweight gallery. The gallery will more than double in size allowing the display of more than 800 weights from the Rubloff collection (currently only 341 are on display), a new pedestal case will be added and a display space dedicated to contemporary paperweight design will also be added.

L. H. Selman, Ltd. is sponsoring “Celebrate the Paperweight” weekend in Chicago September 28-30, 2012. In addition to a variety of other activities, attendees will be able to attend the official opening of the reinstalled Rubloff Paperweight Gallery. Complete details and registration information for the paperweight weekend can be found at www.selman.com.

Author’s Note: I know this isn’t Carder Steuben, but I, for one, am impressed with such a substantial accomplishment by a paperweight collectors’ group, a paperweight dealer and some individual collectors in conjunction with a major museum.

Scott Hansen

www.cardersteubenclub.org

Any opinions expressed by participants to the Gazette e-mail newsletters are the opinions of the authors and are not endorsed by or the opinions of the Carder Steuben Club.

2012 Carder Steuben Club annual Symposium will be held at The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY from September 20-22, 2012.