The Fort Wayne Museum of Art recently received a large gift of contemporary studio glass from Dena and Ralph Lowenbach consisting of 96 contemporary works of art from the Lowenbach’s personal collection.
Fort Wayne Museum of Art news release:
Museum Ignites New Season of Glass with Major Gift A transformational gift of art from Dena and Ralph Lowenbach, and a new space to exhibit it October 20, 2025
Image courtesy of the Fort Wayne Museum of Art.
Fort Wayne, Indiana (October 20, 2025) – The Fort Wayne Museum of Art recently received a large gift of contemporary studio glass from Dena and Ralph Lowenbach consisting of 96 contemporary works of art from the Lowenbach’s personal collection. A partial list of artists represented in the donation includes Karen LaMonte, Duncan McClellan, Vladimira Klumpar, Michael Pavlik and Judith Shechter. According to Charles Shepard, President and CEO, this gift will catapult the museum into its next century of collecting.
Ralph and his late wife Dena Lowenbach are New Jersey-based collectors who built a remarkable collection of contemporary glass sculptures that will now find a permanent and public home in Fort Wayne, IN for everyone to enjoy. Collectors like Ralph and Dena spend a lifetime supporting artists with their acquisitions, and because of their forward-thinking generosity, the collection now lives on in the public realm.
Selected works from the Lowenbach collection are now on display in the newest addition to the museum’s exhibition space, the Illumination Gallery. This new gallery highlights 70 studio glass sculptures from the museum’s permanent collection. In celebration of the entire Lowenbach donation, the museum plans to have an exhibition this winter that will introduce visitors to the gifted works.
General admission to the museum is free for FWMoA members, $10 adults, $8 for children 2-17, college students with valid ID, and seniors 65+. Children under 2 are free. Veterans, active military personnel, their spouse and children 17 and under in the same household receive free admission. General admission is free the 2nd Thursday of the month. FWMoA gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday 10-6pm, Thursdays 10-8pm, and Sundays 12-5pm.
About the Fort Wayne Museum of Art
Beginning with art classes in 1888 given by J. Ottis Adams and later William Forsyth, the Fort Wayne Museum of Art is now the third largest art museum in InDíana. Regularly exhibiting regional and nationally acclaimed artists, the FWMoA also boasts a collection of 7,700 objects of American and international art from the 18th century to today. The Museum is committed to the collection, preservation, presentation, and interpretation of American and related art to engage broad and diverse audiences throughout the community and region and add value to their lives. The Fort Wayne Museum of Art is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. This activity made possible, in part, with support from the InDíana Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
For more information, visit www.fwmoa.org.
