Eye Level – Collector’s Roundtable: They Saw, They Learned, They Acquired

This post on the Smithsonian Eye Level blog describes the recent Collector’s Roundtable lecture at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, a passionate discussion that Elmerina and Dr. Paul Parkman and John T. Kotelly led. Here is an excerpt:

“In the second of three Collectors’ Roundtable lectures this spring, Elmerina and Dr. Paul Parkman and John T. Kotelly led a spirited conversation on collecting contemporary craft. All three share a passion for studio arts and related stories of how they began collecting, what they’ve acquired since, and how once the collecting bug strikes, your life may never be the same.

For the Parkmans, the year 1969 was the tipping point. That’s when their lives became “intertwined with the art glass movement,” according to Elmerina. They attended OBJECTS: USA, an exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum that featured artists working in craft media. The Parkmans were originally interested in historical glass, such as shaded art glass from the 1800s. After OBJECTS: USA, however, they wanted to “live in our time,” and made their first art glass purchase in 1971, nearly forty years ago.

But the Parkmans didn’t sit back and wait for the art to come to them. They visited glass schools such as Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina and Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle (cofounded by Dale Chihuly, perhaps the best-known contemporary American glass artist), became friends with artists, and learned about their field of interest. They saw, they learned, and they acquired.”

Click here to read the complete post. For more details on the OBJECTS:USA exhibit mentioned in the post, click here.

Image in the post is Dan Daily’s Parkman Coupe, from the Eye Level post.