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 1899
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Benjamin L. Wigfall Artist Archives and Mary Carter Wigfall Personal Papers, 1880/2023

21.875 Linear Feet 50 boxes; 63 folders
The collection documents the life and work of Benjamin L. Wigfall, African American abstract expressionist artist. Benjamin L. Wigfall was the second African American artist to have a painting aquired by the VMFA, as well as the youngest ever artist to do the same. In addition to his work as an artist, Wigfall also taught and mentored in both Virginia at Hampton Institute, as well as New York at SUNY New Paltz and in his own community. Additionally, the collection contains documents related to the life and career of artist and educator, Mary Carter Wigfall, Benjamin L. Wigfall's wife. Mary C. Wigfall founded and directed the Migrant Childcare Center in New York from the early 1970s until her retirement in 1992.
3 results

Benjamin L. Wigfall Artist Archives and Mary Carter Wigfall Personal Papers, 1880/2023 21.875 Linear Feet 50 boxes; 63 folders

Wigfall, Benjamin L., 1930-2017
The collection documents the life and work of Benjamin L. Wigfall, African American abstract expressionist artist. Benjamin L. Wigfall was the second African American artist to have a painting aquired by the VMFA, as well as the youngest ever artist to do the same. In addition to his work as an artist, Wigfall also taught and mentored in both Virginia at Hampton Institute, as well as New York at SUNY New Paltz and in his own community. Additionally, the collection contains documents related to the life and career of artist and educator, Mary Carter Wigfall, Benjamin L. Wigfall's wife. Mary C. Wigfall founded and directed the Migrant Childcare Center in New York from the early 1970s until her retirement in 1992.

Series 4: Communications Village, 1880/1980 3 boxes 2 boxes 10 folders

This series is comprised of correspondence, photographs, posters, newspaper clippings, ephemera, slides, negatives, and more related to the Communications Village organization.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Records of the Home for Needy Confederate Women (SC-23), 1898/2007

2.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes; 68 folders
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.
3 results

Records of the Home for Needy Confederate Women (SC-23), 1898/2007 2.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes; 68 folders

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.

Series 2: Administrative Files, 1898/1997

This series is comprised of meeting minutes, policies, history of the Home, estate files, registers, dealings with state agencies, and the closing of the Home in 1989 and relocation of the residents.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Records of the Oaks (SC-01), 1894/1995

6.25 Linear Feet 5 boxes; 76 folders
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 war's end. The contents of the collection can perhaps be best summarized in a portion from a memo from Records Manager Jennie Runnels to Director Katherine Lee on April 7, 1995: "Dr. Brownell believes these [papers] would be an exciting topic and important to recovering Richmond's rich architectural history. The boxes contain drawings of the gardens surrounding the Oaks and possibly reference sources used for their redesign, in addition to receipts and invoices pertaining to alterations of the house that took place during Miss Boyd's lifetime. The material documents not only the social and cultural fabric of Richmond's past but also the history of a home that is important to the Virginia Museum."
3 results

Records of the Oaks (SC-01), 1894/1995 6.25 Linear Feet 5 boxes; 76 folders

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 war's end. The contents of the collection can perhaps be best summarized in a portion from a memo from Records Manager Jennie Runnels to Director Katherine Lee on April 7, 1995: "Dr. Brownell believes these [papers] would be an exciting topic and important to recovering Richmond's rich architectural history. The boxes contain drawings of the gardens surrounding the Oaks and possibly reference sources used for their redesign, in addition to receipts and invoices pertaining to alterations of the house that took place during Miss Boyd's lifetime. The material documents not only the social and cultural fabric of Richmond's past but also the history of a home that is important to the Virginia Museum."
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Ivan Bilibin Postcard Collection (SC-30), 1899/1909

0.1 Linear Feet 1 box; 12 items
The collection consists of 12 postcards illustrated by Russian Art Nouveau artist Ivan Bilibin between 1899-1909 depicting scenes from traditional Russian folktales.
Top 3 results view all 4

Ivan Bilibin Postcard Collection (SC-30), 1899/1909 0.1 Linear Feet 1 box; 12 items

Bilibin, Ivan I︠A︡kovlevich, 1876-1942
The collection consists of 12 postcards illustrated by Russian Art Nouveau artist Ivan Bilibin between 1899-1909 depicting scenes from traditional Russian folktales.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

John Barton Payne Personal Papers (SC-31), 1881/1938

0.4 Linear Feet 1 box; 10 folders; 73 items
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, most of which were taken at Mt. Washburn in Yellowstone National Park, but also a photo album from a trip to Alaska as part of the Alaskan Engineering Commission (AEC).
2 results

John Barton Payne Personal Papers (SC-31), 1881/1938 0.4 Linear Feet 1 box; 10 folders; 73 items

Payne, John Barton, 1855-1935‏
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, most of which were taken at Mt. Washburn in Yellowstone National Park, but also a photo album from a trip to Alaska as part of the Alaskan Engineering Commission (AEC).
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Pierre Sanchez Collection of Horace Vernet Graphic Works (SC-28), 1816/1996

0.5 Linear Feet 13 items (4 volumes, 7 prints, 1 poster, and 1 letter)
The collection was assembled by the French scholar Pierre Sanchez, who collected hundreds of lithographs by Horace Vernet (1789-1863) to write the catalogue raissoné of Vernet's lithographic work. The largest privately owned collection of Vernet's graphic works, the collection is comprised of three unpublished volumes of over 300 works, as well as eight loose prints, one poster, and one letter.
1 result

Pierre Sanchez Collection of Horace Vernet Graphic Works (SC-28), 1816/1996 0.5 Linear Feet 13 items (4 volumes, 7 prints, 1 poster, and 1 letter)

Sanchez, Pierre, 1963-
The collection was assembled by the French scholar Pierre Sanchez, who collected hundreds of lithographs by Horace Vernet (1789-1863) to write the catalogue raissoné of Vernet's lithographic work. The largest privately owned collection of Vernet's graphic works, the collection is comprised of three unpublished volumes of over 300 works, as well as eight loose prints, one poster, and one letter.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Pinkney Near Personal Papers and Henrietta Near Artist Archives (SC-42), 1873/2020

2.5 Linear Feet 4 boxes; 27 folders
This collection documents the lives and careers of Pinkney Near, former curator of VMFA, and his wife, artist and art aficionado, Henrietta Near.
3 results
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Records of the Roycroft Community (SC-08), 1899/1915

0.25 Linear Feet 1 box
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.
1 result

Records of the Roycroft Community (SC-08), 1899/1915 0.25 Linear Feet 1 box

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.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Records of Virginia Arts Organizations (SC-03), 1888/1942

0.5 Linear Feet 1 box, 12 folders; 113 items
The collection documents the rich history of Richmond's artistic culture and community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Drawing upon the legacy of the first Academy of Fine Arts in the United States, founded in Richmond in 1786, the Richmond Academy of Arts was revived in 1930, and records created throughout the organization's history comprise the majority of the collection. The Academy provided the most cohesive and active arts organization in Richmond before the founding of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Even after the museum's opening in 1936, the relationship between the Academy and the museum is notable; from the correspondence between Thomas C. Colt, the museum's first Director, and two Presidents of the Academy, to the creation of Richmond's first "Salon des Refuses," and to the repeated overlapping of artist and patron names within the organizations.
2 results

Records of Virginia Arts Organizations (SC-03), 1888/1942 0.5 Linear Feet 1 box, 12 folders; 113 items

Academy of Sciences and Fine Arts
The collection documents the rich history of Richmond's artistic culture and community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Drawing upon the legacy of the first Academy of Fine Arts in the United States, founded in Richmond in 1786, the Richmond Academy of Arts was revived in 1930, and records created throughout the organization's history comprise the majority of the collection. The Academy provided the most cohesive and active arts organization in Richmond before the founding of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Even after the museum's opening in 1936, the relationship between the Academy and the museum is notable; from the correspondence between Thomas C. Colt, the museum's first Director, and two Presidents of the Academy, to the creation of Richmond's first "Salon des Refuses," and to the repeated overlapping of artist and patron names within the organizations.

Series 1: Early Arts Organizations' Exhibitions, 1888/1928 5 items 1 Folder

This series is comprised of exhibition catalogs from various shows presented in Richmond and sponsored by different arts organizations from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in the decades before the revival of the Richmond Academy of Arts in 1930. In 1888, the statewide "Virginia Exposition" was held at the fairgrounds in Richmond and mainly showcased artifacts of historical significance. Judge John Barton Payne donated his entire painting collection to the state of Virginia in 1919, which formed the core of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts' collection when it was founded. The Virginia League of Fine Arts was the successor to the Virginia League of Fine Arts and Handicrafts, and merged with the Academy just two years after their "First Municipal Art Exhibition of Richmond" in 1928.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

R.E. Lee Camp, No. 1, Confederate Veterans Papers (SC-21), 1885/1958

0.2 Linear Feet 3 boxes; 13 items
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 landscape of the camp over 50 years, a rare guest register that includes thousands of guest signatures and a page signed by ten members of the Blackfeet Nation, and two extremely rare artifacts – reunion ribbons – provide material testimony to the reconciliation efforts of Confederate and Union veterans only twenty years after they faced each other as enemies during the Civil War.
2 results

R.E. Lee Camp, No. 1, Confederate Veterans Papers (SC-21), 1885/1958 0.2 Linear Feet 3 boxes; 13 items

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 landscape of the camp over 50 years, a rare guest register that includes thousands of guest signatures and a page signed by ten members of the Blackfeet Nation, and two extremely rare artifacts – reunion ribbons – provide material testimony to the reconciliation efforts of Confederate and Union veterans only twenty years after they faced each other as enemies during the Civil War.

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