Ceramic artwork is an area of collecting significance at the Tweed, strengthened by a gift of artwork in 1991 from Glenn C. Nelson, former UMD professor. Additionally, Nelson made a bequest creating the Glenn C. Nelson Ceramics Purchase Fund to be used for purchasing and acquiring ceramics. The fund enables the museum to continue to expand and diversify its collection by modern and contemporary artists. Notable artists represented in the collection include Morel Doucet, Ruth Duckworth, Beth Lo, Roberto Lugo, Warren MacKenzie, Maria Martinez, Ken Nagle, Akio Takamori, Peter Voulkos, and Patti Warashina.