CAMBRIDGE, MA.- The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is the recipient of an original glass sculpture by world-renowned glass artist Lino Tagliapietra. The piece, from the artist's "Dinosaur" series, has been put on exhibit in the Academy's headquarters building here.

Tagliapietra, of Murano, Italy, is one of the world's most acclaimed living glass artists. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the Academy in 2007 and presented the sculpture during a dedication ceremony this month. The Academy's American and foreign members include some of the world's most heralded visual artists working in virtually every medium, as well as leading scholars and practitioners from many other fields and professions.

"The Academy is so grateful to Maestro Tagliapietra for his generous gift," said Academy Chief Executive Officer Leslie Berlowitz. "It is a magnificent addition to the artcollection of our 228-year-old institution. A testament to his mastery of the art and the science of glassmaking, this sculpture perfectly captures the creative energy and brilliance of the artist."

Tagliapietra was born in 1934 on the island of the centuries-old center for Venetian glassmaking, Murano. He became an apprentice in the glass studio of the internationally known Muranese master Archimede Seguso at the age of eleven, and achieved the rank of maestro by age twenty-one. Throughout his career, Tagliapietra has shared his knowledge of traditional Venetian glassblowing techniques with glass artists and audiences around the world and has been largely responsible for a worldwide renaissance in glassblowing.

A retrospective exhibition of Tagliapietra's work is now at the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C.