Benjamin Powell Moore (February 5, 1952 – June 25, 2021) was an American studio glass artist and teacher. He was one of the most influential 20th century glassblowers in the United States. He established the production studio Benjamin Moore, Inc. in Seattle; and served for many years as the director of the

Pilchuck Glass School Pilchuck Glass School is an international center for glass art education. The school was founded in 1971 by Dale Chihuly, Ruth Tamura, Anne Gould Hauberg (1917-2016), and John H. Hauberg (1916-2002). The campus is located on a former tree farm in ...

. In 2009, Moore was awarded the title of fellow from the

American Craft Council The American Craft Council (ACC) is a national non-profit organization that champions craft based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1943 by Aileen Osborn Webb, the council hosts national craft shows and conferences, publishes a quarterly m ...

(ACC).

Early life and education

Benjamin "Benny" Powell Moore was born on February 5, 1952, in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington. It had a population of 55,605 at the 2020 census, making it the state of Washington's 23rd-most populous city. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County, and the central city ...

.Helbert, Glenda (March 10, 1985). "Ben Moore's art exists in glass by itself". ''

The Olympian ''The Olympian'' is a daily newspaper based in Olympia, Washington, in the United States. It is owned by The McClatchy Company and publishes a daily printed edition. History Olympia was home to the first newspaper to be published in modern-da ...

''. p
2122
Retrieved 2025-06-30 – via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...

. Moore received a

BFA degree A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard Undergraduate education, undergraduate Academic degree, degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Ba ...

in 1974 in ceramics from the

California College of Arts and Crafts The California College of the Arts (CCA) is a Private university, private art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded in Berkeley, California in 1907 and moved to a historic estate in Oakland, California in 1922. In 1996, it opened ...

(now the California College of the Arts) in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he studied under Marvin Lipofsky; and a

MFA degree A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

in 1977 from

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

(RISD) in Providence. He was married to glass artist Debora Moore, and together they had a daughter.

Career

From 1974 until 1987, Moore served as the educational coordinator at Pilchuck Glass School in

Stanwood, Washington Stanwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, Snohomish County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The city is located north of Seattle, at the mouth of the Stillaguamish River near Camano Island. As of the 2020 United States ...

. At Pilchunk Glass School, Moore worked alongside

Dale Chihuly Dale Chihuly ( ; born September 20, 1941) is an American glass artist and entrepreneur. He is well known in the field of Glassblowing, blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture". Early life Dale Patrick Chihuly was born on ...

. His glass work was part of the traveling exhibition, ''Young Americans: Clay/Glass'' (1978) and ''Craft Today: Poetry of the Physical'' (1987) which was shown at fourteen museums across Europe. He was awarded the title of fellow in 2009 from the

(ACC) in New York.

Death and legacy

Moore died on June 25, 2021, in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. His work is in museum collections including at the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...

in Washington, D.C.; the

Museum of Arts and Design The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the ...

in New York City; the

National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...

in Stockholm; the

Glasmuseet Ebeltoft Glasmuseet Ebeltoft is a museum in Ebeltoft, Denmark. It is dedicated to the exhibition and collection of contemporary glass art worldwide and also offers public demonstrations and seminars to glass students in its glass-blowing studio. Establis ...

in Ebeltoft, Denmark; and the

Corning Museum of Glass The Corning Museum of Glass is a museum in Corning (city), New York, Corning, New York, United States, dedicated to the art, history, and science of glass. It was founded in 1951 by Corning Incorporated, Corning Glass Works and currently has a ...

in Corning, New York.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore (artist), Benjamin 1952 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists American glass artists Artists from Seattle People from Olympia, Washington California College of the Arts alumni Rhode Island School of Design alumni