Records of the Exhibitions Department (RG-23)
Scope and Contents
The collection’s inclusive dates are 1936-2012, with the bulk of the material dating from 1979-2004. The collection is comprised of correspondence, exhibition schedules, budgets, grant applications, photographs, object lists, notes, collection statements, planning documents, project files, policies, loan arrangements and decisions, and other materials.
Dates
- 1936-2012 [minimally processed; subject to change]
Creator
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access - Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
The collection is minimally processed. Requests to perform research must be submitted to the VMFA Archives at least one business day in advance.
As custodians of public records, VMFA only restricts access to public records when sensitive information is present. Such restrictions are applied in accordance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia, § 2.2-3700 thru § 2.2-3714) and the Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act (Code of Virginia, § 2.2-3800 thru § 2.2-3809). Both Museum staff and the public may need written permission from the Director to view certain restricted records.
Series 3 (Collections Management) and series 5 (Loans) are restricted as they contain sensitive information about acquisitions, insurance, security, and other issues related to the museum's art collection.
Conditions Governing Access - Library of Virginia
The collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.
Extent
93.75 Linear Feet (75 boxes) : VMFA Holdings
99.25 Linear Feet (190 boxes) : Library of Virginia Holdings
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The collection is organized into 5 series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Items with no date are generally placed at the end at each series. The collection is minimally processed, so folder arrangement, titles, or dates are subject to change if additional processing occurs.
- Series 1
- Exhibition Files, 1936-2012, undated
- Series 2
- Exhibitions Management, 1936-2015, undated
- Series 3
- Collections Management, 1977-2004, undated [RESTRICTED]
- Series 4
- Galleries, 1977-2004, undated
- Series 5
- Loans, 1994-2012, undated [RESTRICTED]
Custodial History
The collection was transferred from the Exhibitions Department through periodic deposits.
Related Materials - VMFA Library and Archives
- Many of the museum's exhibitions have published catalogs, which can be found in the Library's catalog Pandora or in the Archives Catalog Collection (PB-01).
- For each exhibition held at the museum, the Archives has a vertical file which may include announcements, clippings, press releases, brochures, reviews, invitations, small exhibition catalogs, and other ephemeral material.
- Some early exhibition records are found in the Archives Director's Correspondence (RG-01) and curators often created their own exhibition records which are found in the Archives Curatorial Collection (RG-03).
Related Materials - Library of Virginia
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)
Processing Information
This collection was originally processed from June through August 2011, and then reprocessed in 2016. During processing, non-permanent materials such as copies of meeting minutes, routine correspondence, copies of invoices, departmental budgetary information, and declined exhibition proposals were destroyed according to VMFA’s Records Retention and Disposition Schedule. Periodicals, books, and exhibition catalogs were transferred to the Library’s collection. All files before 1980 were rehoused in new archivally sound folders. Original folder titles were generally retained, when provided.
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts -- Exhibitions
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts -- Art collections
- Title
- Finding Aids to the Institutional Records of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in the VMFA Archives | Records of the Exhibitions Department
- Subtitle
- Record Group 23 (RG-23)
- Status
- In Progress
- Author
- Devon Kramer, Archives Intern (2011) and Erica Borey, Records Manager (2016); Finding aid encoded by Courtney Tkacz, VMFA Archivist (2021)
- Date
- 2021
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives Repository
Margaret R. and Robert M. Freeman Library
200 N. Arthur Ashe Boulevard
Richmond VA 23220-4007 United States
804-340-1495
library@vmfa.museum
