Walters Art Museum Receives $2.5M Endowment Gift From Baltimore Art Collectors

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The Walters Art Museum received a $2.5 million gift from Baltimore Art Collectors, Deborah and Philip English on Wednesday.

“This new position funded by the Englishes gives us the ability to further the study of ceramics like Majolica and other examples of material culture, which expands the types of stories we are able to tell and restores this art to its rightful place in history,” said Julia Marciari-Alexander, Andrea B. and John H. Laporte Director. “We are simply thrilled to have this opportunity to integrate the visionary collection the Englishes have created into the Walters, which stewards one of the most significant collections of ceramics from across the globe and across time in the United States.”

The money will be used to endow and hire a new curator to specialize in decorative arts, design, and material culture. The Englishes also committed to donating 500 objects in their collection of Majolica to the museum.

Majolica is a type of molded earthenware. It is known for its brightly colored lead-based glazes that were widely used throughout Victorian society as tableware, decorative objects, and garden ornaments.  The English Majolica Collection is one of the largest and significant collections of English and Continental-European Majolica given to any U.S. Institution.

“Majolica was one of the most significant ceramics introduced in England in the 19th century,” said Deborah English. “It introduced Rococo, Renaissance, and Gothic design motifs into middle-class homes. From a material culture standpoint, Majolica’s wide popularity and broad acceptance in society made it reflective of the changes in Victorian society brought on by the industrial revolution. Majolica spoke to the politics, culture, and even satire of the era.”

The Englishes have made significant gifts to the museum from their Majolica collection and said they will continue to do so.

“We chose the Walters Art Museum to receive this collection because of the long-established relationship between the institution and the English family, and also because of the museum’s superior approach to scholarship and conservation,” said Philip English. “Along with the collection, we wanted to present the museum with a significant academic resource for the study of Majolica, and we recognized the importance of underwriting a curatorship to ensure the continued study of this important and captivating ceramic.”

The exhibition will be on view from February 27 to August 7, 2022.