Chihuly Collection
From October 2003 to July 2004, an exhibition of Dale Chihuly’s glass artwork placed amidst the Conservatory’s plant collections drew a record number of visitors and made a lasting impression on all who viewed it.

The Friends of the Conservatory, a private, nonprofit group that supports the Conservatory, purchased most of the glass included in the exhibition for Franklin Park Conservatory.  More than 3,000 individual pieces of Chihuly’s blown glass is held in the collection. Several pieces are currently on view at the Conservatory.

The full collection will be remounted for an exhibition at the Conservatory set to open in September of 2009.

Contributions to the purchase of the Chihuly Collection were made by:

• Battelle
• The Columbus Foundation
• The William H. Davis, Dorothy M. Davis, and William C. Davis Foundation
• Robert B. Hurst and James W. Overstreet Funds of The Columbus Foundation
• Limited Brands Foundation
• Mr. John H. McConnell
• Nationwide Foundation
• The OK Foundation
• Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Wexner
• Robert F. Wolfe & Edgar T. Wolfe Foundation
• Worthington Industries

Chihuly Studio Editions, select glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly,  are available for purchase at Botanica, the Conservatory’s gift shop and greenhouse. Prints, DVDs, notecards, and books are also in stock.

In the fall of 2006, The John F. Wolfe Chihuly Resource Center was established at the Conservatory. The resource center houses books, DVDs about the artist, original glass artworks and drawings by Chihuly, and teacher resources.