MFA asks glass tower’s admirers to help buy it

It is fairly standard, these days, for a museum to acquire a work from an artist who has been featured in a solo exhibition. But typically, deep-pocketed donors are sought to make those purchases. The MFA’s public appeal includes, for the first time, a chance for museum visitors to give online and by texting on their phones - people can text the word TOWER to 50555, then reply to the follow-up message “To confirm your $10 donation to MFA Boston, reply with the word YES.’’

“People indicated clearly they wanted the piece to stay,’’ said Malcolm Rogers, the MFA director. “Many ordinary people indicated they wanted to give. It’s a great opportunity for people to give in a quite modest way and feel they contributed to making this a great place.’’

The MFA quietly began the campaign last week by adding a donation box next to the piece and sending an e-mail to museum members pointing them to the contribution website. This week, they plan to add tweets and Facebook posts to spread the word.

And later in August, an e-mail blast detailing the campaign will go out to anyone who has visited the Chihuly show. In recent weekends, people have waited hours to see the artist’s works. This week, attendance surpassed 320,000, meaning that when Chihuly closes Aug. 7, it will be at least the fifth-most-visited MFA exhibit of all time, behind just “Monet in the 20th Century,’’ “Monet in the ’90s,’’ “Renoir,’’ and “Pompeii 79 A.D.,’’ which were held in 1999, 1990, 1986, and 1978, respectively.

As visitors stream past “Lime Green Icicle Tower,’’ they echo a question:

“Pretty much from day one, people almost invariably ask, ‘Does this stay, is it permanent, can we keep it here?’ ’’ said Gerald Ward, the senior curator who organized the exhibition. “It’s met with universal acceptance and people are anxious to have it stay.’’