The Huntington Museum of Art is presenting a new exhibit titled Winslow that highlights the artwork of Winslow Anderson (1917-2007), who was the first full-time resident designer at Blenko Glass Company in Milton, West Virginia. The exhibit Winslow, which complements Joyful Spirits: Haitian Art from The Winslow Anderson Collection, is on view at HMA from Aug. 30 through Nov. 23, 2025. Joyful Spirits continues on view at HMA now through Feb. 8, 2026.
The exhibit Winslow will be in the spotlight on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, from 6 to 8 p.m. Admission to this 4th Tuesday Tour event is free. Refreshments will be served and a mobile glass unit from Blenko Glass Co. will be at HMA to demonstrate glass-blowing techniques.
“Winslow Anderson figures prominently in the Huntington Museum of Art’s story,” said HMA Curator John Farley. “Winslow was a dear friend to a generation of former employees. Anderson and admirers of his work have enriched the Museum’s permanent collection with numerous gifts of colorful glass, paintings, mechanical drawings and illustrations for his glass designs, and more. A discerning collector, upon his passing in 2007, the Museum received a bequest of 160 works of Haitian art, which was a source of great joy and artistic inspiration, and a generous endowment that primarily supports the expansion and conservation of this important Haitian art collection. Titled simply, eponymously, this exhibit is dedicated to those who knew Winslow.”
A native of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Anderson served as a topographic draftsman in the United States Army during World War II. He then studied industrial ceramic design at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Upon graduating in 1947, Anderson became the first full-time resident designer at Blenko Glass Company, hired to design modern utilitarian glass vessels for production in the factory. His keen understanding of form and color quickly led to award-winning, highly collectible glass designs that raised the profile of the company. Anderson’s bent decanter and other signature glass designs were featured in the Museum of Modern Art’s ‘Good Design’ exhibition series, an annual celebration of new, thoughtfully designed home furnishings.
In 1953, Anderson became the designer and design director for the Lenox China and Crystal Company in Trenton, New Jersey, where he worked until 1980. After retiring, Anderson returned to Milton, West Virginia.
The exhibit features a silk floral wall art installation in a style that Anderson created in his yard in Milton as a tribute to loved ones he had lost and referred to as La Botanica Esperanza. This installation is a homage to the one that Anderson himself created. “We believe visitors to this exhibit will appreciate the beauty of this floral wall and will be inspired to use it as an interactive photo station within the exhibit,” Farley said.
Joyful Spirits: Haitian Art from The Winslow Anderson Collection and Winslow are presented with support from The Isabelle Gwynn and Robert Daine Exhibition Endowment.
Joyful Spirits: Haitian Art from The Winslow Anderson Collection and Winslow are presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.
For more information on exhibits at HMA or on Museum membership, call (304) 529-2701 or visit hmoa.org. HMA is fully accessible.
West Virginia residents may obtain a summary of the registration and financial documents from the Secretary of State, State Capitol, Charleston, WV 25305. Registration does not imply endorsement.