The Glass Flowers: Marvels of Art & Science

The Glass Flowers, formally The Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants, are on permanent exhibition at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Nearly 4,300 individual glass models represent 780 plant species. The collection has delighted museum visitors, educated students and inspired artistic and scholarly works for over a century. They were made from 1886 to 1936 by Leopold (1822-1895) and Rudolf Blaschka (1857-1939), father and son glass artists who lived and worked in Germany.

Collection Manager Jennifer Brown will share the history of this one-of-a-kind collection and talk about recent endeavors, including an extensive exhibit renovation that was completed in May 2016.

Brown has managed the Glass Flowers since 2012. She studied visual art at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and library science at Pratt Institute. In addition to her experience in libraries, archives and collections, she worked for renowned glass artist Toots Zynsky.

Commissioned by George Lincoln Goodale, the first director of Harvard’s Botanical Museum, and funded by benefactors Elizabeth and Mary Lee Ware, the collection was intended as a permanent museum exhibit which would support botanical education. The Glass Flowers are marvels in the fields of art and science, used for teaching and regarded as extraordinary works of art.

Attached image is of Glass model of Rhododendron maximum (Model 608), Rudolf Blaschka, 1896. The Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants on exhibit in the Harvard Museum of Natural History, Harvard University © President and Fellows of Harvard College

Founded by artists in 1981, CCMoA is the home of Cape Cod art. The Museum preserves the work of the Cape’s finest artists and celebrates the distinctive artistic identity of the Cape, the Islands and the region. It is a major hub of the cultural life of the region.  Through its outstanding art collection and diverse programming, CCMoA educates, inspires and excites the imagination while caring for and connecting the Cape’s many communities.  The Museum is situated in a beautiful setting surrounded by a Sculpture Garden at the Cape Cod Center for the Arts. CCMoA has seven galleries, a museum shop and a film screening room. It is supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod.

                CCMoA is located at 60 Hope Lane, just off Route 6A, on the same campus as the Cape Cinema and the Cape Cod Playhouse in Dennis, MA. Hours are 10 am to 5 pm Tues through Sat and noon to 5 pm on Sunday.  It is open on ARTfull Thursdays from 5 – 8 with no admission fee.  General Admission is $9, $7 for seniors and students 19+ with school ID, $5 for students 13 to 18, and free for children 12 & under. For more information, see www.ccmoa.org or call (508) 385-4477. Follow on Facebook and Instagram