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200 N. Boulevard
Richmond, Virginia
Phone: 804-340-1400
TDD:804-340-1401
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is an outstanding art collection spanning 6,000 years which includes the grandest public collection of Faberge outside Russia, world-class collections of Art Nouveau and Art Deco, Impressionism, post-Impressionism, Contemporary, American, Classical, Byzantine, African, Egyptian, Chinese, Japanese, one of the world's great Tibetan collections, and Indian art.
For more than 60 years, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has achieved an international reputation for creative excellence and innovative arts programming. When it was founded in 1936, the Virginia Museum was the nation's first statewide arts system. But the museum's list of "firsts" is long and impressive: the first performing arts facility inside a fine arts complex was built at the Virginia Museum in 1954, and the Virginia Museum was the first to establish a network of affiliates to share art and art-related resources throughout the Commonwealth.
However, the Virginia Museum's most important contribution may be its leadership in the area of public and private partnership for the arts. The construction of the museum itself was the direct result of such a partnership, between private donors and state legislators.
The idea of a state-operated art museum in Richmond emerged in 1919 when Judge John Barton Payne, a Virginian by birth, gave his collection of 50 paintings to the Commonwealth. Gifts from other donors followed, and in 1932 Judge Payne proposed a $100,000 challenge grant to construct a museum for Virginia's public art collection.
The challenge was accepted by Governor John Garland Pollard, who led a campaign to raise additional funds from private donors and who promoted the idea of using state revenues for the new museum's operating expenses. With additional funds from the Federal Work Projects Administration, Judge Payne's dream became a reality. On January 16, 1936, the museum's first director, Thomas C. Colt, Jr., opened the doors of the new Georgian-style building to the public.
PROGRAM
SCHEDULE
(Tentative
as of September 29, 2006)
October 12 Dr. Linda
Nochlin will present “Renoir's ‘Grandes Baigneuses’: Bathers in
19th-Century
October 12 The
museum presents its popular Young @ Art program for preschool children
ages 3-5
from 10 to 11 a.m. See Oct. 5 listing for details.
October 13 VMFA
presents “Mini-Masters” from 10 to 11 a.m. for the pre-K child plus an
adult.
The program, which focuses on the state’s kindergarten Standards of
Learning,
looks at a different artist each month. Children enjoy a story time,
receive an
artist-of-the-month calendar, and take a highlights tour of the
galleries.
Registration is required; telephone (804) 204-2697. There is a
materials fee of
$5 per child ($4 members).
October 14 VMFA presents
Race to the Finish, a
Saturday Art Adventure from 10 a.m. to noon for
children ages 4-8. Children will
construct and decorate a stick horse and visit VMFA’s
October 15 VMFA
presents the October Tour of the
Month. See Oct. 11 listing for
details.
October 16 David Cannadine,
who is the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Professor of British
History at the
Institute of Historical Research at the University of London, will
speak to the
VMFA Collectors’ Circle at 6 p.m. in the Marble Hall. His topic will be
his
just-published book on Andrew Mellon, “An American Life.” A booksigning
will
follow the talk. The event is open to the public. For ticket
information,
telephone (804) 340-1405. Tickets are $15 (VMFA members $10; free to
Collectors’ Circle members).
October 18 The museum
presents its popular Artful Toddlers program for preschool children
ages 3-5
from 10 to 10:45 a.m. See Oct. 4 listing for details.
October 19 The
museum presents its popular Young @ Art program for preschool children
ages 3-5
from 10 to 11 a.m. See Oct. 5 listing for details.
October 19 3rd
Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m. at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts features
themed
programs centered on music, art, tours, food and specialty drinks. (See
March
16 listing for complete information.) Tonight’s celebrates Latin
Heritage
Month, with DJ Steve’s Latin Dance Party featuring salsa, merengue and
cha-cha.
Things to do include a “Dia del Muerto” hands-on creative activity and
a
“Lovely Ladies” Art Tasting gallery tour. Icy cocktails and fiery Latin
food
will be available. More information is available on-line at
www.vmfa.state.va.us.
October 20 Writer
and historian Rebecca Solnit will speak at 6:30 p.m. in the Marble Hall
on the
topic “Accelerator: Eadweard Muybridge, Photography and the Great
Victorian
Speed-Up.” It was through his remarkable experiments in motion studies
that
Muybridge revolutionized 19th-century photography. Solnit is a writer,
historian and critic with a particular interest in geography,
landscapes and
photography. Tickets are $5 (members and students $3) at VMFA or
telephone
(804) 340-1405.
October 26 The
museum presents its popular Young @ Art program for preschool children
ages 3-5
from 10 to 11 a.m. See Oct. 5 listing for details.
October 27 VMFA
presents “Mini-Masters” from 10 to 11 a.m. for the pre-K child plus an
adult.
See Oct. 13 listing for details.
October 29
VMFA presents a free Pumpkin Carving
Contest Family Event from 3 to 5 p.m., recommended for children ages
4-12
accompanied by an adult. Families will cut, carve and embellish a
unique
jack-o-lantern, then bring the results to VMFA for contests, games and
other
entertainment. Different age groupings and categories will give many
opportunities for prizes. No
registration is required.
November 1 Jeffrey
W. Allison, VMFA’s Paul Mellon Collections Educator, will discuss
photographer
O. Winston Link’s passion for trains and the people along their paths,
which
drew him repeatedly to Virginia, in a talk in the Pauley Center at 6
p.m. Link
began documenting the last mainline steam railroad in America, the
Norfolk and
Western, in 1955. By the time the N&W’s steam operations ended in
1960,
Link had produced some 2,500 images. The talk is free, but advance
reservations
are required: telephone (804) 340-1405 or visit the Virginia Museum of
Fine
Arts ticket desk.
November 1 The
museum presents its popular Artful Toddlers program for preschool
children ages
3-5 from 10 to 10:45 a.m. See Oct. 4 listing for details.
November 2 The
museum presents its popular Young @ Art program for preschool children
ages 3-5
from 10 to 11 a.m. See Oct. 5 listing for details.
November 9 The
museum presents its popular Young @ Art program for preschool children
ages 3-5
from 10 to 11 a.m. See Oct. 5 listing for details.
November 10 VMFA
presents “Mini-Masters” from 10 to 11 a.m. for the pre-K child plus an
adult.
See Oct. 13 listing for details.
November 11 VMFA
celebrates Native American Heritage Month with “Blues and the Spirit of
a
Native People,” featuring Pura Fé, in the Marble Hall at 7 p.m.
Pura Fé, a
Native American who is a member of the Tuscarora tribe, is a blues
singer,
songwriter, musician, poet, dancer, actor and activist. She is a
founding
member of the internationally renowned native woman’s a capella trio
Ulali and
is recognized for bringing Native contemporary music to the mainstream
music
industry. Tickets are $10 (VMFA members, students and members of all
Virginia
and North Carolina Native American tribes $8) and are available at the
museum
or by telephoning (804) 340-1405.
November 15 The
Poetic Principles series continues with novelist Lee Smith. Smith’s
reading,
cosponsored by the New Virginia Review, will be in the VMFA Pauley
Center at 6
p.m. Smith’s new novel, “On Agate Hill,” will be publish this fall by
Algonquin
Books of Chapel Hill, N.C. Smith is author of nine novels as well as
three
collections of short stories. Her ninth novel, “The Last Girls,” was a
New York
Times bestseller and a co-winner of the Southern Book Critics Circle
Award.
Tickets are $6 (members, students $4) and are available at the museum
or by
telephoning (804) 340-1405.
November 15 The
museum presents its popular Artful Toddlers program for preschool
children ages
3-5 from 10 to 10:45 a.m. See Oct. 4 listing for details.
November 16 The
museum presents its popular Young @ Art program for preschool children
ages 3-5
from 10 to 11 a.m. See Oct. 5 listing for details.
November 16 3rd
Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m. at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts features
themed
programs centered on music, art, tours, food and specialty drinks. (See
April
20 listing for complete information.) Tonight’s theme is A '70s Disco
revival
with DJ Rick Danger. Things to do include a “Temporary Tattoo” hands-on
creative activity and a “Party Animals” Art Tasting gallery tour. Retro
cocktails and grilled pizzas will be available. More information is
available
on-line at www.vmfa.museum.
November
17 Twyla Kitts of VMFA’s education staff
explores
the influence that artists and works of art have on playwrights in
a brief
in-gallery demonstration followed by a discussion. This free “How
… does
art inspire theatre?” program starts at noon, departing from the lobby.
November 18 VMFA presents Man in Motion, a Saturday Art
Adventure in claymation for children ages 7-10. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
students will combine art and technology as they collaborate with
classmates to
create a clay-animation film. Students plot scenes; develop ideas for
props,
sound effects and sets; and create original clay characters. Each
student
receives a DVD copy of the claymation cartoon. Students should bring a
bag
lunch. The $95 fee (members $90) includes the cost of the student’s
DVD.
Advance registration is required; telephone (804) 340-1405.
November 20 Richard
L. Feigen will speak to the VMFA Collectors’ Circle at 6 p.m. in the
Marble
Hall. An art dealer with more than 50 years experience and an active
collector
of Baroque paintings and Contemporary art, Feigen will discuss “The Art
Market
in Orbit (Why and How Long?).” For ticket information, telephone (804)
340-1405. Tickets are $15 (VMFA members $10; free to Collectors’ Circle
members).
November 30 The museum presents
its popular
Young @ Art program for preschool children ages 3-5 from 10 to 11 a.m.
See Oct.
5 listing for details.
November 30 VMFA
presents a free Teen Caffeine
Café featuring
the wearable art show “Stylin’: Fast Paced Fashion” from 6:30 to 8:30
p.m. in
the Marble Hall and galleries. More than 25 middle and high school
students
will showcase handcrafted garments that employ recycled shopping
materials.
Activities will include coffee, refreshments, music, poetry, gallery
tours and
creative exercises – all open to the public. For more information
telephone
(804) 340-1573 or visit www. vmfa.museum/teenclass.html.
December 2 VMFA
presents Story Studio for
children ages 5-8 plus caregiver. See Oct. 7 listing for details.
December 2 VMFA presents Gingerbread
Houses, a Saturday Art Adventure for
families from 10 a.m. to noon. Children and adults will construct holiday gingerbread houses
decorated with candies, using royal icing
as mortar and cement. The program is recommended
for children ages 5-12 accompanied by an adult. The fee is $28 (members
$25);
there is no charge for the accompanying adult. Advance registration is
required; telephone (804) 340-1405.
December 6 The museum presents
its popular
Artful Toddlers program for preschool children ages 3-5 from 10 to
10:45 a.m.
See Oct. 4 listing for details.
December 7 The museum presents
its popular
Young @ Art program for preschool children ages 3-5 from 10 to 11 a.m.
See Oct.
5 listing for details.
December 8 VMFA
presents “Mini-Masters” from 10 to 11 a.m. for the pre-K child plus an
adult.
See Oct. 13 listing for details.
December 9 VMFA presents Fused Glass
Ornaments, a Family Art Adventure, from
10 a.m. to noon. The program is recommended for children ages 5-12,
accompanied
by an adult. Participants will design, cut and piece together colorful
glass to
create unique ornaments or small pieces of jewelry that can be used as
holiday
gifts or decorations. (Completed projects will be fused in a kiln and
ready for
the participant pick up in one week.) The fee is $23 (members $20);
there is no
charge for the accompanying adult. Advance registration is required;
telephone
(804) 340-1405.
December 14 The
museum presents its popular Young @ Art program for preschool children
ages 3-5
from 10 to 11 a.m. See Oct. 5 listing for details.
December 15 Twyla
Kitts of VMFA’s education staff explains the connections between the
laws of
motion and artists’ creations on view in “Speed” in a brief in-gallery
demonstration followed by a discussion. The free “How … does it move?”
program
starts at noon, departing from the lobby.
December 18 VMFA presents the
third annual winter break camp, Gallery of Gifts, Monday-Friday, Dec.
18-22,
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Children will create one-of-a-kind, handmade
gifts for
family and friends. Camps are available for children 5-7 and for
children 8-12.
The fee is $200 (members $185). Registration is required; telephone
(804)
340-1405. Additional information is available at (804) 340-1438.
December 20 The
museum presents its popular Artful Toddlers program for preschool
children ages
3-5 from 10 to 10:45 a.m. See Oct. 4 listing for details.
December 22 VMFA
presents “Mini-Masters” from 10 to 11 a.m. for the pre-K child plus an
adult.
See Oct. 13 listing for details.
December 28 VMFA presents Paint Party, an Art Adventure
for children ages 6-10 from 9 a.m. to noon. Instructors will have
resources set
up for a playful painting studio party. The fee is $25 (members $20).
Advance
registration is required; telephone (804) 340-1405.
January 22 Eric
Denker will present “Fleeting Impressions: Prints by James McNeil
Whistler” to
the VMFA Collectors’ Circle at 6 p.m. in the Marble Hall. Denker is the
former
curator of Prints and Drawings at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and
currently
serves as Senior Lecturer at the National Gallery of Art. For ticket
information, telephone (804) 340-1405. Tickets are $15 (VMFA members
$10; free to
Collectors’ Circle members).
January 31 The
Poetic Principles series continues with novelist David Wojahn. His
reading,
cosponsored by the New Virginia Review, will be in the
February 3 VMFA presents
Story Studio for children
ages 5-8 plus caregiver. See Oct. 7 listing
for
details.
February 14 VMFA presents the February
Tour of the
Month, “Lovely Ladies of VMFA,” at 2:30 p.m. with docent Jim
Whelan. The tour
will highlight works of art that feature inspiring women.
The free
tour departs from the Marble Hall.
February 18 VMFA presents the February
Tour of the
Month. See Feb. 14 listing for
details.
February 26 In
celebration of the reinstallation of the Jerome and Rita Gans
Collection of
English Silver, VMFA’s consulting curator for the collection, Ellenor
Alcorn,
will speak to the VMFA Collectors’ Circle at 6 p.m. in the Marble Hall.
For
ticket information, telephone (804) 340-1405. Tickets are $15 (VMFA
members
$10; free to Collectors’ Circle members).
The Payne collection was the first, but others soon followed. The Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of jeweled objects by Peter Carl Faberge -still one of the most popular attractions in the galleries- was bequeathed in 1947. In that same year the museum received the T. Catesby Jones Collection of modern art, and during the early 1950s the museum's holdings were again significantly expanded by two important bequests, from Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams (1952) and from Arthur and Margaret Glasgow (1954). Clearly, more galleries were needed to display these collections, and construction of the museum's first addition, in 1954, provided a temporary solution.
That first wing was built under the guidance of Leslie Cheek, Jr., director of the Virginia Museum from 1948 to 1968. In addition to providing much-needed gallery space, the addition includes a 530-seat theatre. Financed again by state appropriations and private philanthropy, the new Virginia Museum Theatre (now TheatreVirginia) was built with a $650,000 grant from the Old Dominion Foundation, of which Paul Mellon of Upperville was president and chairman.
The museum's acquisition program, as always dependent on private contributions, continued at a rapid pace. Especially significant was the 1968 purchase, with funds from Paul Mellon, of many important examples of Indian painting and sculpture from the world-famous Heeramaneck Collection.
Gallery space was again desperately needed by the mid 1960s. Funded solely by the state and completed in 1970, the South Wing featured four new permanent galleries and a large gallery for loan exhibitions, as well as operational facilities including a new library, an expanded photography lab, art storage rooms and staff offices. Externally, the South Wing restored the Georgian symmetry of the original structure.
As the South Wing was being completed, two important gifts were received. The first, in 1970, was a gift from the estate of Ailsa Mellon Bruce of 450 European decorative arts objects. Included were many precious 17th-century English porcelain and enameled boxes, one of the greatest such collections in the world. The second gift, from Sydney and Frances Lewis of Richmond in 1971, provided for the acquisition of art nouveau objects and furniture.
Once again, as more exhibition space and visitor services were needed, a third addition, the present North Wing, was approved by the legislature. This wing, completed in 1976, added three more large gallery areas: two for loan exhibitions and one for the Sydney and Frances Lewis Art Nouveau Collection. Also included were a new Sculpture Garden with a cascading fountain, a 375-seat auditorium, a smaller lecture hall and a public cafeteria.
Before long, the Lewises and the Mellons each began to propose major donations from their extensive private collections. Once again, public and private resources were pooled to provide for growth, and the museum's leadership in such partnerships was further underscored by constructionof the West Wing in 1985.
The West Wing houses the impressive Lewis Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and contemporary collections, as well as the Mellon collections of Impresionism, Post-Impressionism, and British sporting art.
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in 1996, serves hundreds of thousands of visitors annually through extensive exhibition and arts education programs in Richmond and throughout the Commonwealth.
The gallery complex presents a panorama of world art spanning creative achievements from ancient times to the present. Outstanding features are the Mellon collections of British sporting art and French impressionist and post-impressionist art, including nine original waxes and seven bronzes by Edgar Degas; the Lewis collections of American and European art since World War II and art nouveau, arts and crafts, art deco, and modern decorative arts; the Pratt Collection of Russian imperial Easter eggs and objects of fantasy from the workshops of master jeweler Peter Carl Faberge; European and American masterpieces of painting, including works by Francisco Goya, John Singer Sargent and Claude Monet; the collection of ancient, classical and Egyptian art, including a rare, life-sized marble statue from the 1st century AD of the Roman emperor Caligula; one of the world's leading collections of the art of India, Nepal and Tibet; and a special loan collection of English silver.
COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS TOURS
Tours highlighting the museum's collections are offered Tuesday through Sunday at 2:30 p.m. and Thursday evening at 6 and 7 p.m. to walk-in visitors. Tours last approximately 50 minutes and are free and open to the public. No reservations are required. Exceptions may apply at holidays. All tours begin in the main lobby. Telephone 804/340-1435 for details.
Hours
NEW VIRGINIA MUSEUM HOURS
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts galleries are open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For additional information, telephone (804) 340-1400.
Suggested admission donation is $5.
(An additional fee may be charged for special loan exhibitions.)
For exhibition and event information, telephone 804/340-1400.
The Virginia Museum is on the Boulevard at Grove Ave.
Michael Brand, Director
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