OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA.- The Oklahoma City Museum of Art announced the upcoming grand opening of Highlights from the Rose Family Glass Collection, a new acquisition of more than 100 works from the "Golden Age" of Studio Glass. The one-of-a-kind collection, generously donated by the Rose Family and in honor of Jerome V. and Judith G. Rose, will open to the public on Saturday, September 3, 2022.

After 40 years in the making, Highlights from the Rose Family Glass Collection will provide visitors with a deeper contextual understanding of glass art and showcase the broader story of the Studio Glass movement that originated in America in the 1950s and continues to the present day. The collection features 161 works by 77 artists, including works by pioneers of the Studio Glass movement and many other artists prominent in U.S. and international museum and private collections. Among them are Harvey K. Littleton, Dale Chihuly, Paul Marioni, Flora C. Mace, and Joey Kirkpatrick, William Morris, Lino Tagliapietra, Jaroslava Brychtová, Stanislav Libenský, and Ginny Ruffner.

"Highlights from the Rose Family Glass Collection is astounding in its beauty, diversity, and inherent storytelling of the history of Studio Glass. The Museum is nationally known for its impressive collection and longstanding commitment to Studio Glass, and this new acquisition elevates and enriches our current collection," said Michael J. Anderson, OKCMOA President and CEO. "We look forward to sharing this extraordinary and eclectic collection with visitors and are grateful to the Rose family for this generous donation."

Jerome and Judith Rose began collecting glass in the late 1970's. Over the next several decades, the Roses traveled around the world building their collection. Through frequent visits to Seattle, where the Pilchuck Glass School is located, the Roses befriended famous artists and graduates of the glass education center such as Dale Chihuly, an American artist known primarily for the revolutionizing of the Studio Glass movement and elevating perceptions of the medium. Highlights from the Rose Family Glass Collection joins existing artworks from Dale Chihuly at OKCMOA.

"Building and exhibiting their glass collection was my parents' pride and joy," said Sara Jane Rose, daughter of Jerome and Judith Rose. "My sister, Lisa, and I are honored to be able to now share our parents' collection as a permanent feature of Oklahoma City's creative landscape and look forward to seeing how these outstanding works of art inspire and impact all who see them."

Highlights from the Rose Family Glass Collection features pieces ranging from small, intimate works to large-scale indoor and outdoor pieces, with color palettes shifting from subtle monotones to brilliant jewel-like effects, often depending on placement and lighting. From flat, two-dimensional constructions to three-dimensional abstract sculptures, the collection shows the diversity of artistic vision and imagination in the Studio Glass movement and the fascinating ways artists are able to manipulate glass to create complex and resoundingly beautiful works of art.




Artists featured in the collection are:

Fritz Dreisbach: German artist that began glass blowing at the same time as Chihuly and played a significant role in promoting glass as an artistic medium.
Flora C. Mace and Joey Kirkpatrick: Long-time collaborators and the first women to teach at Pilchuck.
John Lewis: Prominent artist whose studio created the chairs for the Oklahoma City National Memorial.
Paul Marioni: One of the founding members of the American Studio Glass movement who creates sculptures and vessels that are about the human experience, dreams, and spirituality.
William Morris: Worked with Dale Chihuly at Pilchuck and eventually became his chief gaffer (or glassblower) in the 1980s.
Lino Tagliapietra: World-renowned and revered for his incredible manipulation of glass and innovative creations. At Chihuly’s invitation, he visited and introduced students at the Pilchuck School to the long-standing tradition of Venetian glassblowing.
Toots Zynsky: One of the only women in a group of pioneering artists studying with Chihuly, who made studio glass a worldwide phenomenon.
Historical glass by Louis C. Tiffany and Émile Gallé


OKCMOA will create The Rose Collection Endowment to maintain and preserve the Jerome and Judith Rose Family Glass Collection. To contribute to this endowment, please contact Kimberly Worrell, kworrell@okcmoa.com.

This exhibition is supported by:
Cynda and Larry Ottaway
Nancy and Jim Seely
About the Oklahoma City Museum of Art
The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is one of the leading arts institutions in the region. The Museum presents a dynamic range of exhibitions organized from prestigious museums and collections throughout the world. The Museum’s own diverse collection features highlights from North America, Europe and Asia, with particular strengths in American art and postwar abstraction. The permanent collection also boasts one of the world’s largest public collections of Dale Chihuly glass, a major collection of photography by Brett Weston and the definitive museum collection of works by the Washington Color painter Paul Reed. The Museum’s renowned Samuel Roberts Noble Theater screens the finest international, independent, documentary and classic films. The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and is a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors. The Museum serves over 125,000 visitors annually from all fifty states and thirty foreign countries.
Media Contact:

Caitlin Anders
Office: (405) 278-8208
canders@okcmoa.com