Awards

Honorary Degree - 2009

L.H.D.

Doctor of Humane Letters

Commencement

Indianapolis, Indiana

Presenter: Michael A. McRobbie

About Donald Gummer

Gummer grew up in Indiana. He studied at Ben Davis High School, Indianapolis, and then at the Herron School of Art (also in Indianapolis) from 1964 to 1966. From 1966 to 1970 he studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, and then completed his studies at the Yale School of Art where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and Master of Fine Arts (MFA), and studied with David von Schlegell.

Gummer's first solo show was in 1973. Since then, his works have been featured at two dozen solo shows at museums and galleries around the East Coast and Midwest. His work has also been exhibited in group shows.

Gummer's commissioned works have included Primary Compass (2000), a site-specific outdoor permanent sculpture at the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio and a sculpture/fountain in Historic New Harmony, New Harmony, Indiana. One of his most recent works is a stainless steel and stained glass sculpture titled Southern Circle, standing 25 feet (7.6 m) tall and weighing approximately 20,000 pounds, commissioned by the city of Indianapolis and dedicated in October, 2004. Another recent work is "Primary Separation", a permanent installation at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, completed in 2006.