VOLUME 4, NUMBER 1 Spring 2011

NEWSLETTERThe New Bedford Museum of Glass

Afteralmostayearofconstruc-tionandpreparation,theNewBedfordMuseumofGlassmetwithawarmre-ceptionatitsGrandOpeningcelebrationover theweekendofSeptember11th.TheopeningcoincidedwiththeannualSandwich Glass Show held on nearbyCapeCod,andmanycollectorsvisitingtheareawereabletoattendbothevents.The local community also turned outinforce;MayorScottLangwasamongthe250+attendees.Inanexcitingde-parturefromthetypicalribbon-cuttingceremony,theMayorwasinvitedtoac-tivate the Museum’s 1871 crystal table fountain by rotating the hour-glassshapedfonts.Thecrowdhelditsbreathashetippedthecenterbulbs,andthenbrokeintoapplauseasthejetsprangtolife.Noonelookedmoredelightedthanthe Mayor, who managed to pull off the ceremonywithoutasplash! Theeveningfeaturedlivemu-sicbylocalartists,speeches,tablesfullof hors d’oeuvres, and several crates of fine wine. Standing prominently andappropriately in thecenterof thedessert tablewasachocolatedippingfountain!Visitorswereabletosocializeandwanderfreelythroughthemuseum

Museum Celebrates Grand Opening!galleries, library and gift shop beforethe commencement of ceremonies. Inthenewgalleries,50mon-umental display cases housed morethan1000beautifulspecimensofglassranginginperiodfromancienttocon-temporary. Included in the displayswere two exceptional examples ofRoyalFlemishglassdonatedby long-time museum members Carmen andTerry Freeman in memory of the lateEdieLawson.Theglassmadearedcar-petentrance,arrivingbyspecialcarrieronlythedaybeforetheopening!Alsoondisplaywereoutstandingexamplesof art glass and early American glasson long-term loan from theBenning-ton Museum, and fine Pairpoint glass on loan from member Phil Gardella. Although the chocolate foun-tain and the wine have long-sincestopped flowing, many exciting new pieces have been added to the dis-plays. Please stop to see them! L.A.C.

Figure 1. New Bedford Mayor Scott LangstandstotheleftasanappreciativecrowdapplaudsthedemonstrationoftheNBMOGtablefountain.

A new exhibit at the Museumhas met with glowing reviews! 358 examples of Vaseline glass from thecollectionofRichardM.Bacikandhislate wife, Carol, are presented in theinstallation “Atomic Green Vaseline:Uranium Glass in Everyday Life.” Mr.Bacik donated this extraordinary col-lection to the Museum last year inmemoryofhiswife, andmuseum in-tern Angela D. Curry organized theexhibition to coincidewith theMuse-um’s Grand Opening last September. “Vaseline glass” is a collec-tor term for glassware deriving itsbright yellow-green color from thepresence of uranium in the composi-tion. It was first developed in Europe in the 1840s. Uranium gives the glass its unusual property of glowing fluo-rescence when exposed to ultravioletlight!Ms.Curryassuresusthatdespitethealarmingconnotationsofuraniumand radiation, the glass is perfectlysafe. The average person is exposedto more radiation on a daily basisfrom their natural surroundings thantheywouldreceivefromayearsexpo-sure to the Museum’s fine collection. Vaselineglassisstillinproduc-tion,bothintheU.S.andabroad.Herein New Bedford the Mt. WashingtonGlass Company used a formula con-taininguraniumandgoldtoproduceitsfamousBurmeseglass.TheBacikcol-lection,supplementedwithloansfromtwo private collections, encompassesa wide selection of uranium glass ofall types.Asyouadmire it,pleasere-member:noleadapronrequired!L.A.C.

No Lead Apron Required!

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The Schimmelpfeng Collection ofContemporary Glass Paperweights

Member Richard P. Schimmelp-fenghasgenerouslydonatedhismag-nificent collection of almost 200 glass paperweightstotheNewBedfordMu-seum of Glass! Representing many ofthe best known contemporary artists,the collection spans two generationsofcollectors.Itwasstartedbackinthe1970s by Richard’s father, Harold W. Schimmelpfeng.Hisgardenabuttedthegarden of Scarsdale, NY, neighbor Paul Jokelson,theleadingauthorityandau-thorinhisdayonthesubjectofFrenchglass paperweights. The paperweightcollectingbugspreadfromonegardentothenext,andthenfromfathertoson. Eachpaperweight in thecollec-tion presents a fascinating study incraftsmanship,creativityandbeauty;atiny world of its own encapsulated inglass.TheglassdomeofoneexamplebyartistRickAyottesheltersaclusterof flowers and powdered blueberries fromtheravagesoftimeandalsofromhungrymuseumvisitors(Fig.1).Near-byaRickAyotterobinfreezes,startled,caughtintheactoffeedingawrithingcaterpillar to a hungry fledgling (Fig. 2). Another beautiful Ayotte weight fea-turesscarlettanagers(Fig.3).Alumi-

by Laura A. Coffin

Figures 1-4(clockwisefromleft):BlueberryandFloralBouquetbyRickAyotte,Nashua,NH, dated 2004, D: 4”, acc. 2011.002.087; Pair of Robins with Caterpillar by Rick Ayo-tte, Nashua, NH, dated 1980, D: 2 11/16”, acc. 2011.002.082; Scarlet Tanagers with CaterpillarbyRickAyotte,Nashua,NH,dat-ed 1980, D: 2 13/16”, acc. 2011.002.080: Moon Jellyfish Sculpture by Richard Sa-tava, Chico, CA, dated 2007, H: 6”, acc.

nescent moon jellyfish floats tranquilly in thecolumnofglass inwhichartistRichardSatavacaptured it,ashockoftentacles draping dangerously fromits ghostlike body (Fig. 4). More than onevisitortothegalleryhasposedthequestion,“buthowdotheymanagetoplacetheseobjectsintheglass?”Uponhearingthattheobjectsinquestionarethemselves made of glass, they oftenrespondwithexclamationsofdisbelief. ApaperweightcreatedbyCathyRichardsonfeaturesatinyfrogsittingamidst a cluster of lily pads (Fig. 5).Onewrongmoveandhewill jump tothenextshelf,whereasculpturecre-ated by Debbie Tarsitano modestlywraps a brilliantly colored dahlia insoftly sculpted leaves (Fig. 8). Several planetsdesignedbyJoshSimpsonarefrozen mid-orbit around an abstractgolden paperweight (Fig. 7). Located oneshelfbelowisapastel-coloredor-chidsuspendedmagicallyincrystalairby itsmaker,VictorTrabucco(Fig.9). Itisnotonlyintheirclevermim-icry of nature, however, that theseartists excel. Several abstract paper-weights were designed solely to cap-ture and manipulate color and light.

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Others feature colorful, intricate pat-terns assembled from tiny millefiori (“thousand flowers”) cane. No minor manipulationsofglassarethese;eachrepresentsyearsoflaborandpractice. Paperweights often appeal as demonstrations of an artist’s glassmak-ingknowledge,skillandartistry.Itfol-lows,naturally,thatoneofthemostre-wardingaspectsofbeingapaperweightcollectorisdevelopingtheabilitytorec-ognize and appreciate that wonderfulvirtuosity.Andtoshareitwithothers. Asked about his favorite piece,Richard says that he couldn’t possi-blychooseasingleexample.Headds,however, that Satava’s jellyfish is es-peciallypopular. Judgingfromthere-action of museum visitors we wouldhavetoagree.Weencourageeveryonetostopbyandpickout theirownfa-vorites.Then,shouldthequestioneverarise, “Is there still a call for paper-weights in this digital age?,”wehopetheanswerwillbearesounding“Yes!” As for Richard Schimmelp-feng, the latest news is that hisshelves have gotten lonely with-out their beautiful paperweights,so he has started to refill them. The collecting adventure continues!

Figures 6-9 (clockwise from above toright): Magnum pedestal paperweight withred,whiteandbluecane,St.Louis,France,dated 1977, H: 5”, acc. 2011.002.079; In-habited Planet with Satellite by Josh Simp-son,Shelburne,MA,dated1992,H:3”;acc.2011.002.053; Crystal sculpture with bluedahlia, Debbie Tarsitano, Westford, MA, c.2006, OH: 8”; acc. 2011.002.084; Mag-num lily paperweight by Victor Trabucco,Buffalo, NY, dated 1986, D: 3 3/4”, acc. 2011.002.061.

Figure 5 (left): Lily Frog paperweight byCathy Richardson, Winnona, MN, dated2007, D: 3 1/4”, acc. 2011.002.060

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NewBedfordMuseumofGlassNewsletter Vol. 4, #1

©Spring2011

Museum&Shop61 Wamsutta St.

New Bedford, MA 02740(tel.) 508-984-1666

(web)www.nbmog.org

Exec.Director&NewsletterEditorKirkJ.Nelson

knelson@nbmog.org

AssistantDirectorLaura A. Coffin

lcoffin@nbmog.org

NBMOGisa501(c)(3)not-for-profit

educationalorganization

We are fast approaching our first summer as a fully functioning muse-um!Forthisextraordinaryaccomplish-mentwewishtothankallofyou,ourdedicatedmembers.Yoursupporthasbeeninvaluable!WiththeGrandOpen-ingbehindus,however,itisnowtimeto consider the many exciting proj-ects and challenges that lie ahead.An expanded membership base willstrengthentheMuseuminmanywaystomeetthesechallenges,soweareun-dertaking our first annual membership drive.Currentlywehave153members.Ourgoal is todouble thatnumberbytheendoftheyear.Ifyouhavefriendsor family members who might be in-terestedinjoining,pleaserecruitthem!Membership application forms areavailable at the Museum, or applica-tionscanbemadeonlinethroughthemuseum website, www.nbmog.org.

Display CaseDedication Plaques

New Members Needed!

NBMOG announces that eachof the fifty beautiful display cases built for our new exhibition galler-ieswillbearan individualizedmemo-rialordedicationplaque.Ifyouwouldlike to honor or memorialize some-onewithaplaquebearingtheirname,pleasecontactusatyourconvenience.The tax-deductible donation for eachplaqueis$500,andalreadynineplaqueshavebeensubscribed.Includedamongthe subscribers are the New EnglandPaperweight Collectors Association and the Founders Chapter of the NationalAmerican Glass Club! By participatinginthisimportantfundraisinginitiative,youcansupportthenewglassmuse-umandhonorormemorializesomeonespecial in your life at the same time.

Kenneth M. Wilson Reference Library Gifted to NBMOG

ThelateKennethM.Wilson,for-mervicepresidentoftheNBMOGBoardofTrustees,assembledareferenceli-brary of more than 400 volumes dur-ing his five decade career as a museum curator and prolific author. Mr. Wilson died at age 83 in 2005, and his family recentlydonatedhiswonderful librarytotheNewBedfordMuseumofGlass. Until now, many of the titleshavenotbeenavailablethroughpub-liclibrariestoscholarsworkinginNewEngland. Titles include Robert H. Brill’s exhaustive 2-volume study ChemicalAnalyses of Early Glasses (1999); theSoviet state publication Spanish Glassin the Hermitage (1970), the Kova-cek catalog Glas 1500-Heute (1993),H.W. Woodward’s Art,Feat&Mystery:The Story of Thomas Webb & Sons,

Glassmakers (1978), Hugh Tait’s Pilk-ington Glass Museum catalog (1965), numerous publications by the GlassAssociation, the Circle of Glass Col-lectors and L’Association Internatio-nale pour l’Histoire du Verre, lighting studies including Loris S. Russell’s AHeritageofLight(1968) and the Cata-logueof theNortonCollectionofAn-tique Historical Lamps (1914), a first edition of M.S. Dudley Westropp’s Irish Glass (1920), and bottle stud-ies including Thomas C. Haunton’s TippecanoeandE.G.BoozToo!(2003),Frank Peters’ Fruit Jar Manual (1973), and Rex R. Elliott’s Hawaiian BottlesofLongAgo (1971). Just to list a few! The Wilson gift also includesmany less-obscuretitlesaddressingawiderangeofglasstopics.Initsentire-ty thisgenerousdonationwillhelp toestablishNBMOGasthepremierglassresearchfacility inNewEngland.Cur-rently the NBMOG library holds morethan 6,000 catalogued publications.

Left: Orrefors vase, Orrefors, Sweden, c.1980, H: 5 5/8”, donated by Disa & Waldo Powell in memory of Disa’s mother, Klara Magnusson Netterstrom, acc. 2010.265Below:SantaMariadish,LibbeyGlassCo.,Toledo, OH, 1893, L: 7”, donated by Andrea & Alan Koppel, acc. 2010.179