Dale and Doug Anderson

Art of Glass 2 website:

"Dale and Doug Anderson, residents of New York City and Palm Beach, Florida, are considered by many to be two of the most noteworthy collectors in contemporary glass art. Their generous, repeated donations to art museums - over 1,000 pieces given to 14 institutions in the last 20 years, including a contribution to the Art of Glass 2 live auction - and their advocacy on behalf of artists-scholarships, curatorial programs, support of museum exhibitions - distinguish them as a new breed of enlightened, 21st-century collector.

Explaining their arts advocacy, Doug recalls, "As we were collecting the studio crafts movement, we were collecting the artists as friends. And one of the things that we wished to do was to be an advocate for them."

The Andersons insist on not storing art away-they must live with what they own. And as they acquire, they give away. "When we finally made the decision to give art away, the decision was to give the pieces we liked, that were really good. Not the stuff in a closet that no one wants, but work that makes a difference. Our motto is 'Give 'til it hurts.'"

Giving art to museums provides the opportunity for advocacy as well as for pruning. The Andersons do not want to build the most comprehensive collection, only the one that is best for them, the variable being that their definition of "best" is constantly changing.

Excerpted from American Craft Magazine, "Collectors as Advocates - Doug and Dale Anderson" by Tina Oldknow, copyright 2002."

Oldknow, T. Art of Glass 2 website. "Dale & Doug Anderson, Art of Glass 2 Auction, Honorary Co-Chairs" website accessed June 6, 2009. http://aog2auction.com/cgi-bin/p/awtp-custom.cgi?d=art-of-glass-2&page=3118