Collections : [Virginia Museum of Fine Arts]

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

VMFA Archives
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Margaret R. and Robert M. Freeman Library
200 N. Arthur Ashe Boulevard
Richmond, VA 23220-4007
Primary Collecting Areas:
VMFA institutional records, Donor papers, Virginia Artists Archives, Oral histories, Artist subject files, Analog, and digital audiovisual collections
Description:

The Margaret R. and Robert M. Freeman Library provides access to a wealth of rare and unique primary source materials for scholars, researchers, and the public.

The Archives consists of a diverse and growing collection of permanent materials, covering museum history from its beginnings in the 1930s until today. The Archives includes institutional records from over 25 museum departments, thousands of artist and subject files, as well as donated collections related to the museum and the history of art in Virginia. The Archives also recently launched the Virginia Artists Archives, a collecting initiative that aims to create a rich, diverse, and unprecedented collection of Virginia artists’ papers to increase awareness about the contributions of Virginia artists, both past and present.

POC: Roxanne Winfield
Phone: (804) 340-1497
Phone: (804) 340-1495
Start Over Repository Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Date range 1945 Creator Hammer Galleries

Florentine Renaissance Bust, 1945 1 page Box SC-07 Box 1, Folder 10, Item SC07.02.3.164

Transcription: [On Hammer Galleries stationery, insignia of the Galleries with its double-headed eagle to the left of header; to the right, insignia with the inscription "By appointment to His Majesty the King of Egypt] FLORENTINE RENAISSANCE BUST Lorenzo the Magnificent gave to the period of the Renaissance such impetus and encouragement that they served as the brush [??] which [??] the renewed interest in Classical Art. Lorenzo had his faults, but his love for gems and jewels was less a fault than a talent, for he gathered together one of the finest collections of carved stones and exquisite jewelry ever to be owned by one man, and because he was a collector of Classical Art, others imitated him and followed his example, thus creating a market for the lapidary and goldsmith's work which has never been equalled. [sic] A development from this effort to create unusual pieces of jewelry and decorative objects was the use of large baroque pearls in their natural form. The jeweler eagerly bought these pearls and after recognizing in one the body of a swan, in another the torso of a man, or, as in the figure of the warrior, a well-molded [?] helmet, he proceeded to make a design that completed the picture which his imagination visuallized [sic] with the pearl. It is interesting, therefore, in contemplating the beautiful statuette of the warrior, that the helmet-shaped pearl was in all possibility the inspiration for the subject. We do not know for what aristocrat it was made; we simply know that only a man of fine taste and great wealth could have commanded such a piece from his artisans and that the latter were among the best of the Renaissance period. The best is that of a bearded Greek warrior carved from a large matrix emerald, showing fine detail in portrayal and in execution; on the head the warrior wears a gold helmet covered with the pearl and topped with a winged dragon; the bust stands on four golden snails [??] and is brightened about the [??] with rose diamonds. The plinth is of topaz quartz carved in cameo [??] with heads of warriors and a philosopher. This piece was formerly a part of the well-known Henry Walters Collection. Lillian Pratt January, 1945

  1. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
  2. Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07), 1901/1947
  3. Series 2: Hammer Galleries, 1933/1945
  4. Series 2.3: Item Descriptions, 1933/1945
  5. Folder 10

Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07), 1901/1947 1.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes (15 folders), 1 oversize item and 1 binder

Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?
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 tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer.
  1. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Series 2: Hammer Galleries, 1933/1945 220 items Box 1 (5 Folders, 1 Oversize Item and 1 Binder)

This series is comprised of invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels and correspondence that document the purchases Pratt made from the Hammer Galleries in the 1930s and 1940s. The Lord and Taylor invoices are undated, but the item numbers match up with Hammer Galleries price tags, and the Galleries did present and sell their collection at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s (probably 1934 based upon letterhead from the item descriptions).

  1. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
  2. Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07), 1901/1947

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