Fritz Dreisbach is an American studio glass artist and teacher who is recognized as one of the pioneers of the American Studio Glass Movement.

Early life and education

Fritz Dreisbach was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Hiram College

Hiram College

Hiram College is a private liberal arts college located in Hiram, Ohio. Founded by Amos Sutton Hayden of the Disciples of Christ Church in 1850, the institution has, since its first days, been nonsectarian and coeducational, and throughout its existence Hiram College has sustained this egalitarian...

 in Hiram, Ohio, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Art in 1962; Oberlin College

Oberlin College

Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...

 in Oberlin, Ohio, where he received a Master of Art in Teaching. in 1963 and the University of Iowa

University of Iowa

The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

, where he received a Master of Art in 1965. He received a Master of Fine Art in 1967 from the University of Wisconsin, where he was an assistant to Harvey Littleton

Harvey Littleton

Harvey Littleton is an American educator and glass artist. Born in Corning, New York, he grew up in the shadow of Corning Glassworks, where his father headed Research and Development during the 1930s...

.

Teaching

In a 35 year teaching career the artist taught at 130 institutions world wide, including the School of the Toledo Museum of Art, Pilchuck Glass School

Pilchuck Glass School

Founded in 1971 by Dale Chihuly, Anne Gould Hauberg and John H. Hauberg , Pilchuck Glass School is an international center for glass art education. The name "Pilchuck" comes from the local Native American language and translates to "red river"...

 in Stanwood, Washington and Penland School of Crafts

Penland School of Crafts

The Penland School of Crafts is a center for craft education located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, about 50 miles from Asheville....

 in Penland, North Carolina.
His former students include glass artists Sam Stang and Mary Shaffer.

Awards and grants

A founding member of the Seattle-based Glass Art Society (G.A.S.) in 1971, The Glass Art Society presented Dreisbach with its Lifetime Achievement Award Dreisbach was awarded Honorary Life Membership in the society in 1987. In 2002 he was presented with The Glass Art Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award at a ceremony in Amsterdam. In 1988 he was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Craft Council

American Craft Council

The American Craft Council , was founded in 1943 as a national, nonprofit, educational organization to support and foster interest in the crafts in America. The council sponsers national craft shows, publishes American Craft magazine, and has an extensive awards program...

.

Public collections

In The United States Fritz Dreisbach’s work is included in the public collections of the American Craft Museum, New York City; Cincinnati Museum of Art, Cincinnati, Ohio; Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York City; Corning Museum of Glass

Corning Museum of Glass

The Corning Museum of Glass, in Corning, New York, explores every facet of glass, including art, history, culture, science and technology, craft, and design....

, Corning, Ohio; High Museum of Art

High Museum of Art

The High Museum of Art , located in Atlanta, is the leading art museum in the Southeastern United States and one of the most-visited art museums in the world. Located on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district, the High is a division of the Woodruff Arts Center.-History:The Museum was...

 Atlanta, Georgia; Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, North Carolina and the National Collection of American Art, Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...

, Washington, DC. Overseas his work can be found in the Glasmuseet Ebeltoft

Glasmuseet Ebeltoft

Located in Ebeltoft, Denmark, Glasmuseet Ebeltoft is a museum dedicated to the exhibition and collection of contemporary glass art worldwide. Its mission is to educate a broad audience in the appreciation of glass as an art form.-Establishment:...

, Ebeltoft, Denmark, Glasmuseum Frauenau, Frauenau, Germany; Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

The Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is the main art museum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The museum began in 1847 with the collection of Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans . Much of the museum's original collection was destroyed in a disastrous 1864 fire...

, Rotterdam, Netherlands and the Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, England.