Sandwich Glass Museum
Sandwich, Massachusetts
It has nothing to do with deli meat — the town of Sandwich, Massachusetts, was settled in 1637, making it the oldest town on Cape Cod. In 1825, a local entrepreneur established a glass-manufacturing company there employing master glassblowers from Europe, launching what would be the first in a series of glass factories in the small town. Though Sandwich’s days of industrial glass production are gone, the Sandwich Glass Museum exists to tell the town’s glass story and to showcase some of the beautiful objects made there.
Exhibition Highlights: The museum’s galleries feature nearly 6,000 pieces of glass produced at the Boston and Sandwich Glass Co. between 1825 and 1888. The museum also has a contemporary exhibit with studio glass created by artists from around the world, as well as a collection of historic oil, kerosene and electric lamps.
Glass Experiences: The Sandwich Glass Museum has installed a small hot shop and presents 20-minute glassblowing demonstrations throughout the day. Members of the audience are invited to take part in the glassmaking.
Toledo Museum of Art
Toledo, Ohio
The Toledo Museum of Art features an encyclopedic collection of artwork in all kinds of media, but the museum is perhaps best known for its glass collection. In 2006, the museum opened its Glass Pavilion across the street from the main museum facility in a sleek 74,000-square-foot building whose exterior walls are made entirely of glass. Construction took two years and cost more than $30 million. Admission is free.
Exhibition Highlights: The Glass Pavilion features more than 5,000 pieces of glass, ranging from ancient glass artifacts to contemporary art glass sculpture. Many are related to Toledo’s role in the growth of the Studio Glass movement.
Glass Experiences: Groups have a variety of ways to get their hands on glass at the Glass Pavilion. Private art glass workshops give participants a chance to create small glass art pieces using hot glass, warm glass, flamework and a variety of other techniques. The museum also offers a range of glassblowing demos in one of several hot shops at the Glass Pavilion.
Chrysler Museum of Art
Norfolk, Virginia
Since 1971, the Chrysler Museum of Art has been the cultural cornerstone of Norfolk, Virginia. Created by the son of the Chrysler car company founder, the museum features works of art from throughout time and from around the world. Among the most treasured parts of its collection are more than 10,000 glass objects spanning 3,000 years of human history.
Exhibition Highlights: The glass collection at the Chrysler is most famous for the work of Louis Comfort Tiffany. Other highlights include French glass and English cameo glass. Visitors will also find work from American Studio Glass pioneers, as well as some contemporary 21st-century artists.
Glass Experiences: The Chrysler brings an innovative twist to interactive glass: In addition to having the on-site Perry Glass Studio, the organization can also take its show on the road in a mobile studio. Groups that visit the museum can participate in free daily glassblowing demonstrations at noon or take classes with professional glass artists. Options range from glassblowing to flameworking and stained glass.
