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 1933
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)

1.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes (15 folders), 1 oversize item and 1 binder
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.
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10685-B 1 page Box SC-07 Box 1, Folder 8, Item SC07.02.3.012

Transcription: [double-headed eagle] RUSSIAN IMPERIAL EXHIBIT February 1, 1933 Article No. 10685-B Cup of gold on silver, with handsomely chased "neilo" (black enamel effect) decorations. Made in Russia and dated 1834. From the collection in the Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia, of Nicholai I.

  1. Series 2: Hammer Galleries
  2. Series 2.3: Item Descriptions
  3. Folder 8

3550 1 page Box SC-07 Box 1, Folder 8, Item SC07.02.3.018

Transcription: [double-headed eagle] RUSSIAN IMPERIAL EXHIBIT October 2nd, 1933 Article No. 3550 Wooden Wine Ladle. Beautifully inlayed with metal. Part of the Winter Palace Collection.

  1. Series 2: Hammer Galleries
  2. Series 2.3: Item Descriptions
  3. Folder 8

3623 1 page Box SC-07 Box 1, Folder 8, Item SC07.02.3.019

Transcription: [double-headed eagle] RUSSIAN IMPERIAL EXHIBIT October 2, 1933 3623. Handkerchief. Fine linen handkerchief embroidered with the crown and monogram of the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, Mother of Nicholai II. The border is block printed with a series of brown and blue elephants. It is significant to the superstitious that the trunks of the elephant are turned down where is (sic) those of the lucky elephants are turned up. From the private quarters of the Dowager Empress in the Anitchkov Palace in St. Petersburg.

  1. Series 2: Hammer Galleries
  2. Series 2.3: Item Descriptions
  3. Folder 8
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Director's Correspondence (RG-01)

248.5 Linear Feet 204 boxes; 7,156 folders

This series is comprised of correspondence of all of the various Directors of the museum. Files were arranged alphabetically by subject, and there is a lot of overlap between different Director's as the files often contained pertinent items from a predecessor. In the case of the first sub-series (1.1), until 1976, the entire museum's files were maintained centrally as one unit in the Director's Office.

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Code of Ethics Box 33863 Box 21, Folder 2, Item RG01.01.1.0825

Subject- Remarks on "The Relation of Trustees and Professional Staff of General Art Museums", delivered by Charles Nagel 5/17/69, "Code of Ethics for Museum Workers" 1925. [These notes were taken by VMFA staff in the 1990s before the collection was processed by LVA staff in the 2000s, so the contents of the file may no longer match this description.]

  1. Series 1: Director's Correspondence
  2. Series 1.1: Early Directors

Director's Correspondence (RG-01) 248.5 Linear Feet 204 boxes; 7,156 folders

This series is comprised of correspondence of all of the various Directors of the museum. Files were arranged alphabetically by subject, and there is a lot of overlap between different Director's as the files often contained pertinent items from a predecessor. In the case of the first sub-series (1.1), until 1976, the entire museum's files were maintained centrally as one unit in the Director's Office.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Benjamin L. Wigfall Artist Archives and Mary Carter Wigfall Personal Papers

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.
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Benjamin L. Wigfall Artist Archives and Mary Carter Wigfall Personal Papers 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 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.

Series 7: New York 4 boxes 2 boxes 5 folders

This series is comprised of photographs, slides, negatives, newspaper clippings, correspondence, posters, and more related to Wigfall's communities in New York.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Records of the Home for Needy Confederate Women (SC-23)

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.
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Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Records of Virginia Arts Organizations (SC-03)

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.
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Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Pinkney Near Personal Papers and Henrietta Near Artist Archives (SC-42)

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.
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Series 1: Pinkney Near 3 boxes 3 boxes; 11 folders

This series documents the life and career of Pinkney Near.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Records of the Trustees (RG-02)

62.5 Linear Feet 50 boxes; 1,619 folders, 3 reels of microfilm, 1 hard drive 1 item 1 reel of microfilm (RG02.02.0.001)
The collection documents the work of the Trustees from 1933-2010, including committee files, signed minutes, meeting files, rosters, and records from Trustee Presidents and the Secretary of the Museum.
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Records of the Trustees (RG-02) 62.5 Linear Feet 50 boxes; 1,619 folders, 3 reels of microfilm, 1 hard drive 1 item 1 reel of microfilm (RG02.02.0.001)

The collection documents the work of the Trustees from 1933-2010, including committee files, signed minutes, meeting files, rosters, and records from Trustee Presidents and the Secretary of the Museum.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

John Barton Payne Personal Papers (SC-31)

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).
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John Barton Payne Personal Papers (SC-31) 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

Leslie Cheek, Jr. Personal Papers (SC-02)

19.4 Linear Feet 16 boxes; 596 folders and 48 oversized items
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 and tree farm located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, owned, designed and furnished by the Cheeks between 1967 and 1977 when it was donated to Washington and Lee University. Other series document the Cheeks' personal world travels in the 1950s-1980s, some of Cheek's awards, and finally, a number of framed architectural drawings done by Cheek as a student in the 1930s.
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Leslie Cheek, Jr. Personal Papers (SC-02) 19.4 Linear Feet 16 boxes; 596 folders and 48 oversized items

Cheek, Leslie, 1908-
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 and tree farm located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, owned, designed and furnished by the Cheeks between 1967 and 1977 when it was donated to Washington and Lee University. Other series document the Cheeks' personal world travels in the 1950s-1980s, some of Cheek's awards, and finally, a number of framed architectural drawings done by Cheek as a student in the 1930s.

Series 5: Awards and Degrees 8 folders 20 items

This series is comprised of correspondence about and the actual awards and degrees conferred upon Cheek throughout his life.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Laila W. Pearsall Personal Papers (SC-10)

3.75 Linear Feet 3 non-inventoried boxes
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 from 1961-1963.
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