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 1937

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).
  1. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Johns, Jay W., 1935/1944 Box 33863 Box 39, Folder 7, Item RG01.01.1.1902

Correspondence between T.C. Colt, Jr., Mrs. J.G. Pollard and Mr. Jay W. Johns. Subject- Trustee/Museum business, gifts to Museum, information about an Evelyn Byrd portrait by a disputed artist (Kneller or Bridges), etc. Dates- 6/35-9/44. [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. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
  2. Director's Correspondence (RG-01), 1927/2009
  3. Series 1: Director's Correspondence, 1927/2006
  4. Series 1.1: Early Directors, 1927/1976

Joyner, Sarah, 1935/1957 Box 33863 Box 39, Folder 14, Item RG01.01.1.1911

Subject- State Supervisor of Art, 1935-45. [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. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
  2. Director's Correspondence (RG-01), 1927/2009
  3. Series 1: Director's Correspondence, 1927/2006
  4. Series 1.1: Early Directors, 1927/1976

Leslie Cheek, Jr. Personal Papers (SC-02), 1931/1993 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.
  1. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

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

Macbeth Galleries, 1935/1945 Box 33863 Box 40, Folder 37, Item RG01.01.1.1998

Correspondence with Macbeth Galleries. Subject- loans for inaugural exhibition and general correspondence about proposed acquisitions from Macbeth galleries. Dates- 9/35-7/45. [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. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
  2. Director's Correspondence (RG-01), 1927/2009
  3. Series 1: Director's Correspondence, 1927/2006
  4. Series 1.1: Early Directors, 1927/1976

Malvina Hoffman, Sculpture, 1937 Box 31633 Box 181, Folder RG23.01.0.0015

1 photograph; duplicates: announcement, patron card (sent with invitation); correspondence with artist; shipping information and receipts; budget information; catalog proofs; schedules; invitation list; 1 copy of catalogue; list of sales

  1. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
  2. Records of the Exhibitions Department (RG-23), 1936/2015
  3. Series 1: Exhibition Files, 1936/2015

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