Museum of American Glass

View of exhibit NJ350

About the Museum of American Glass

The Museum of American Glass, celebrating the creativity and craftsmanship of American glass, is at the core of WheatonArts. One of only 9 museums in the state of New Jersey to be accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, it offers over 18,000 square feet of exhibition space, a collection over 20,000 pieces strong, as well as a research library and archives.

The building currently housing the museum opened in December of 1973, representative of the era in which it was made when bicentennial fever fueled an interest in faux-historical settings. The collection was originally interpreted through a chronological history of the American glass industry, the rooms in the museum designed to display the pieces in period style.

Evolving with the changes in audiences and their interests over the past 50 years, Wheaton Village became WheatonArts, broadening the mission beyond its historical emphasis to focus on engaging artists and audiences in an exploration of creativity. Now a leading resource on the art and history of glass made in America, WheatonArts provides stewardship over one of the most comprehensive collections of American glass in the world. The changes you see in the Museum of American Glass are intended to keep the museum relevant to our community and reflective of the creative atmosphere of WheatonArts as a whole while continuing our commitment in preserving Southern New Jersey’s glassmaking heritage and its relationship to the history of glass made in America.

Image of a performance in the lobby of the WheatonArts Museum of American Glass. The dancer is wearing a blue corset top with a small black bow on the chest and another tied around the waist. The dancer also has teal pants, long black boots, and a white pannier of a five-tier hoop skirt. This piece has small clear glass tubes dangling around each of the hoops. The dancer has both arms out to help move in a way that allows the skirt to make noise. A crowd of people sit in the background watching the performance. Also in the background is a large white rack with more clear glass hanging from it and portions of other clear glass pieces are at the top of the image. Each glass piece was used in part of the performance.

Past Emanation Projects:

EMANATION 2019
April 2, 2019 through December 31, 2019

EMANATION 2017
June 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017

EMANATION 2015
May 1, 2015 through January 4, 2016

 

Donation of Artifacts:

If you have an object that you think would be appropriate in the Museum of American Glass collections, please contact collections@wheatonarts.org or 856.825.6800 ext. 142 to discuss the item. Please do not bring it to the Museum until you have spoken with a museum staff member. See “Collections” for more information.

Click here for Collections

Image of a circular logo that features three circles inside of one another. The first circle has a thick light gray line, but the light gray circle inside of it is thinner. There is dark teal text on the top of the circle, that follows the curve, that reads "American Alliance of Museums". There is text of similar style at the bottom, that reads "Accredited Museum". This is followed by another thick light gray circle. In the center of the circle are four diagonal thick light gray lines that are woven with four thick diagonal teal, green, orange, and maroon lines that are angled oppositely of the gray lines.