SC. Special Collections

Abstract

The collection is comprised of over 100 mounted exhibition prints by members of the Camera Club of Richmond. Almost all of the prints were taken by Philip M. Luce, however there are several prints by William Edwin Booth (co-founder of the Club in 1932) and Vallie L. Booth.

Abstract This collection documents a portion of the life of Leslie Cheek, Jr., the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts' second and longest-tenured Director (1948-1968). One series includes material from his early career and activities before the VMFA, as well as his tenure at the museum, and through his retirement. Two series document the publication of two photobiographies about Cheek, "Living by Design" and "Designing for the Arts." Another series is comprised of materials about Skylark Farm, the house...

Abstract The collection documents the rich history of the Council of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the museum’s oldest and longest-running support group. Founded in 1955 by a group of interested women, the Council has grown greatly over the years in membership, events, projects and support given to the museum. The collection spans the entire six decade history of the Council through minutes, officer’s reports, committee reports, subject/event files, and some past Presidents’ files. A large...

Abstract

The collection documents the relationship between the equestrian artist Alvan Fisher and one of his patrons, New York lawyer and horse breeder Charles Henry Hall. The letters discuss the likenesses of the horses Fisher painted, as well as upcoming races, and the noted 19th century racehorse American Eclipse.

Abstract

The collection documents the life of William "Bill" Robert Gaines, artist and long-time program director at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The collection is comprised of a partial manuscript of his autobiography as well as photographs, clippings, and other documents related to his career at the museum.

Abstract

The collections documents the administration of the Home for Needy Confederate Women, a large residential building for destitute female relatives of Confederate veterans for over 50 years. The collection includes administrative files, applicant and resident files, and financial files, among other related ephemera.

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The collection consists of 12 postcards illustrated by Russian Art Nouveau artist Ivan Bilibin between 1899-1909 depicting scenes from traditional Russian folktales.

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The collection documents the relationship between T. Catesby Jones, prominent lawyer and art collector, and Michael Agelasto, cotton broker and later Greek consul to the Port of Norfolk. While they met professionally as younger men in Norfolk, their lifelong friendship was sustained by a common appreciation for modern art, as evidenced by the content of the collections’ correspondence between Jones’ widow, Louisa Brooke Jones, and Agelasto, after Catesby’s death in 1946.

Abstract The collection represents portions of the extensive research library and archives formed by Christel Ludewig McCanless over forty years. A noted Fabergé scholar, McCanless published the first annotated bibliography of literature about Fabergé in 1994, the premiere encyclopedia about the Fabergé eggs in 2001, and founded the "Fabergé Research Newsletter" and "Fabergé Research" website in 2006. While dedicated to research about the artistry of Fabergé, McCanless' collection also includes...

Abstract

The collection contains research files on VMFA history created by Robert “Bob” Merritt, who was a theater and arts critic for the "Richmond Times-Dispatch" newspaper from the 1970s through the 1990s and wrote about VMFA frequently. The boxes were originally labeled “narrative history,” a project which was sponsored by the museum's Marketing and Public Affairs department, probably as part of the plans to commemorate the museum's 50th anniversary in 1986.

Abstract

The collection consists of various forms of memorabilia (postcards, cartoons, brochures, greeting cards, buttons, pins, stickers) depicting Leonardo da Vinci’s "Mona Lisa" as appropriated art. The collection was assembled by Mary Moore Jacoby in honor of Pinkney L. Near, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts' senior curator, who died in 1990.

Abstract

The collection includes photographs, articles, and correspondence related to the collection and subsequent donation of 18th century Meissen porcelain by Margaret M. and Arthur J. and Margaret Mourot.

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The collection consists of two bound albums of postcards mostly depicting art and architecture throughout Europe and the United States. The volumes belonged to Harriet Severance Munn, and many contain correspondence between Harriet, her sister Marjorie, and other family members.

Abstract This collection documents a portion of the life of Lizzie Edmund Boyd and the history of her home, The Oaks, during her ownership from 1927 until the transfer of ownership to the VMFA in 1975. In addition, the lives of several of her family members, namely James Boyd Phillips and Asa Phillips, can be seen through official military documents, tax forms, bank records and personal correspondence, offering a glimpse into their time serving in WWII and assimilation back into society after the...

Abstract

The collection is comprised of photographs of architectural works designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh in Glasgow, Scotland. The photographs were taken by architectural historian William Bainter O'Neal in 1949 and feature the Glasgow School of Art, Hill House, Willow Tea Rooms, and Queen's Cross Church. The envelope that housed the images features diagrams and notes about the Glasgow School or Art presumably written by O'Neal.

Abstract The collection documents parts of John Barton Payne's varied professional career. It contains correspondence, including letters from President Woodrow Wilson and federal agencies including the White House, Senate, House of Representatives, and Postmaster General, as well letters from Payne's former employer, invitations, letters of thanks, and requests from private entities. The collection also contains photographs from trips that Payne took during his tenure as Secretary of the Interior,...

Abstract The collection documents the service of Laila W. Pearsall to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Pearsall was nominated to be a Trustee of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in 1967, and served for 10 years until 1977, including consecutive terms as Vice-President from 1970-1976. She was also a long-standing member of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Council, serving for over 50 years from 1957-2009. She was instrumental in founding the museum Shop in 1962 and served as President of the Council...

Abstract The collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt’s Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum’s permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price...

Abstract

The collection is comprised of eight rare 78 rpm shellac records of Native American chants and songs. Recorded in the early 1950s by Manuel Archuleta, the first Native American in the United States to own his own record label, the chants preserve the songs and dances from the Navajo and several Southwestern pueblos, including the Hopi, Zuni, and San Juan peoples.

Abstract The collection documents the history of R.E. Lee Camp, No. 1, Confederate Veterans, a large residential complex for poor and infirm Confederate veterans of the Civil War. Altogether a total of nearly three thousand veterans from thirty-three states called the camp home, and after the camp’s closing, the Commonwealth eventually granted use of the buildings and land to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The collection is comprised of photographs and postcards that document the changing...

Abstract The collection documents the history of the Richmond Artists Association (RAA), from its founding in 1955 by artist Westwood Winfree, to 2005 when the group joined with another Richmond art organization to form the Metropolitan Richmond Artists Association. The material highlights RAA’s growth and achievements over five decades, including early annual exhibitions at the Carillon and Miller and Rhoads, as well as numerous other exhibitions. Meeting minutes, officer files, and membership...

Abstract

The collection includes postcards, concert and recital announcements, subscription offers, Richmond newspaper accounts of Hubbard’s visit, Roycroft Fraternity membership, an original manuscript of “A Visit to the House of Shakespeare” with handwritten annotations by Hubbard, a blank copy of Memory Book in its original box and other ephemeral material.

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The collection is comprised of brochures, catalogs, and specification sheets produced by mid-20th century Scandinavian designers and design firms.

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The collection helps document the formation of the Kamoinge Workshop in the early 1960s, including a notebook with minutes from their earliest meetings. Photographs from the collection show the early members of Kamoinge, and in particular focuses on the life of Louis H. Draper (1935-2002).

Abstract

The collection documents the life and career of Robert (Bob) S. Telford from 1959-2008. Telford, director of the Virginia Museum Theatre from 1955-1966, helped to strengthen the program and is known for casting African American actors in productions with white actors at a time when interracial casting was illegal in Virginia.