Gifted to the Fine Arts Collection during July of 2002 by Javis and James Fortmann, this collection includes fifteen ceramic art works by Marguerite Wildenhain. Jay Fortmann attended Pond Farm workshops three times between the summers of 1961 and 1971. He purchased works directly from Wildenhain during the years he studied with her. Notes, letters and photographs relating to Marguerite Wildenhain were donated at the same time and are now part of the Luther College Archives. In addition, the Fortmanns donated a Peruvian whistle pot and three pre-Colombian objects also from Peru: a Mochica head, a mummy wrap, and a water carrier pot. Javis and James acquired several of the pre-Colombian pieces in 1966, when they participated in the World Crafts Council General Assembly in Peru.

In 1990, the Fortmanns donated the potter's wheel built and used at Pond Farm by Marguerite Wildenhain to the Luther College Art Department. They also donated a Christmas cookie to the Fine Arts Collection which Wildenhain decorated and sent to special friends.

Information on James Fortmann
James Fortmann was born in 1917 in Dubuque, Iowa to parents who emigrated from Austria and Germany. After graduation from high school in Dubuque, James received a degree from the Art Institute of Chicago. He received his teaching credential from the University of Chicago, and his first teaching position was in Baltimore, Maryland. During World War II, Fortmann served as an illustrator for the U.S. Air Force. After the war, Fortmann settled in California where he taught in a variety of schools, both at the secondary and community college levels. Most of his years were spent in the Long Beach area where he taught at a technical high school, first with the drama department creating sets and later as the ceramics instructor. Fortmann regarded himself as an educator, rather than a production potter. His wife, Javis, was also a schoolteacher for many years. Upon retirement, the Fortmanns purchased property in Sedona, Arizona, where they have lived for 25 years.