Anderson Glass Collection finds home at Chrysler Museum of Art

NORFOLK, Va. (Sept. 6, 2017) — Glass collectors Lisa and Dudley Anderson have made a promised gift of 97 artworks to The Chrysler Museum of Art, which will provide a permanent home for their collection spanning four decades of studio and contemporary glass. Their donation is the Museum’s largest single gift of works since the arrival of Walter Chrysler’s artworks in 1971.

The diversity and depth of the Anderson collection is represented through 40 artists from seven countries. Forty-seven works are by the pioneering Czech couple Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová, well-known for their light-filled sculptures demonstrating technical mastery. Previously, the Andersons donated three works by the artists ? all monumental in scale and on view in the Chrysler Museum’s permanent collection.

The promised gift will add works by Ivan Mareš, Dana Záme?níková, Marion Karel, Václav Cigler, Vladimira Klumpar, Pavel Tomecko and Václav Macha?, further cementing the Chrysler as a noteworthy venue for contemporary Czech glass. The collection also includes a ceramic sculpture by California artist Robert Arneson, as well as prints and drawings by Dale Chilhuly, Italo Scanga, Ann Wolff, Harvey Littleton, Erwin Eisch and Ulrica Hydman-Vallien.

“This glass collection, so thoughtfully assembled by Lisa and Dudley, enables us to explore new ideas and themes in exhibitions and permanent displays,” said Diane Wright, Barry Curator of Glass for the Chrysler Museum. “We’re grateful for their ongoing commitment and tremendous support of glass at the Chrysler Museum of Art.”

The Andersons’ passion for collecting has taken them around the world. While their interests include drawings, prints and ceramics, their primary focus is on studio and contemporary glass from the 1970s to the present. The Andersons, residents of Wilson, N.C., enjoy the excitement of discovering new artists and museums, the connections built through long-term friendships and the joy of exploring new places. The Museum will honor the Andersons at its Major Donor Dinner on Sept. 27 in recognition of their generous donation.

The Andersons’ gift adds to the growing renown of the Chrysler Museum’s glass collection and glass studio. In May, the Chrysler Museum published a new glass collection catalogue, “Glass: Masterworks in Glass from the Chrysler Museum of Art,” and in June, hosted the 2017 Glass Art Society conference, bringing artists to Norfolk from around the world.

“It is very gratifying to know Lisa and Dudley have chosen the Chrysler as the eventual home for this impressive collection,” said Chrysler Museum Director Erik Neil. “I believe it speaks to the overall quality of our collection and the professionalism of the institution. We will remain conscientious stewards of the art that has been entrusted to us.”

ABOUT THE CHRYSLER MUSEUM OF ART

The Chrysler Museum of Art is one of America’s most distinguished mid-sized art museums, with a nationally recognized collection of more than 30,000 objects, including one of the great glass collections in America. The core of the Chrysler’s collection comes from Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., an avid art collector who donated thousands of objects from his private collection to the Museum. In the years since Chrysler’s death in 1988, the Museum has dramatically enhanced its collection and extended its ties with the Norfolk community. The Museum, expanded in 2014 to add additional gallery spaces and amenities for visitors, now has growing collections in many areas. The Chrysler also mounts an ambitious schedule of exhibitions and educational programs and events each season.

In 2011, the Chrysler opened the Perry Glass Studio adjacent to the Museum. This state-of-art, working facility offers programming for aspiring and master artists alike in a variety of processes including glassblowing, fusing, flameworking, coldworking, and neon. The Studio also has earned a reputation for its cutting-edge performance evenings that mix live glassmaking with visual, musical, culinary, and performing arts. The Perry Glass Studio recently was the site of the prestigious 2017 Glass Art Society Conference.

In addition, the Chrysler Museum of Art administers two historic houses in downtown Norfolk: the Moses Myers House and the Willoughby-Baylor House.

The Chrysler Museum of Art, One Memorial Place, Norfolk, and its Perry Glass Studio at 745 Duke St., are open to the public Tuesday–Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. The Historic Houses on East Freemason Street are open weekends. General admission is free at all venues. For more information on the Chrysler Museum of Art, visit chrysler.org.