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 1968
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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Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Records of the Collectors' Circle (RG-19)

6.25 Linear Feet 5 boxes; 127 folders and 1 item
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Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Louis H. Draper Artist Archives (VA-04)

37.5 Linear Feet 170 boxes; 6,605 items
The extensive collection documents the life and work of Richmond-born photographer and educator Louis Draper (1935–2002). Manuscript and photographic materials document Draper's experience and work as an African American photographer, including his recognition of his photography as a form of "engaged resistance" that not only bore witness to leaders of the civil rights movement, but also offered a richer and more diverse perspective of African American life than provided by the mainstream media. In 1963, he was a founding member of the Kamoinge Workshop, a collective of African American photographers, and the collection includes significant materials from the early years of the Kamoinge Workshop and document his perspective on the professional challenges that he and the collective confronted in the process of finding publications that would publish photographs of African Americans made by African Americans. His photographs of significant 20th-century artists, writers, musicians, and performers reflect the wide array of personal connections that Draper made after moving to New York from Richmond, Virginia in 1957. Printed photographs and contact sheets in Draper's archive show a broad view of city life and the everyday interactions between people and also offer a unique vision of African American neighborhoods in the 1960s and 1970s.
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Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Records of the Registration Department (RG-08)

25.25 Linear Feet 21 boxes; 510 folders
The collection documents the work of the Registration Department from 1919-1994, including management of the permanent art collection, loans, and exhibition documentation.
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Records of the Registration Department (RG-08) 25.25 Linear Feet 21 boxes; 510 folders

The collection documents the work of the Registration Department from 1919-1994, including management of the permanent art collection, loans, and exhibition documentation.
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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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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A: General Box 33863 Box 1, Folder 3, Item RG01.01.1.0008

Correspondence by L. Cheek, Jr. and J.M. Brown. Subject- correspondence with individuals, institutions and corporations beginning with the letter 'A', note- two letters written to Josef Albers (no replies). Dates- 2/65-12/72. [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

Aldheizer, George S., II -Trustee Box 33863 Box 2, Folder 5, Item RG01.01.1.0075

Correspondence by L. Cheek, Jr. and J.M. Brown Subject- correspondence with Director about appointment to board of Hon. George S. Aldhizer II, Education in the Arts and Honors and Awards Committee appointments, etc. Dates- 6/67-2/73. [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
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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Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Records of the Exhibitions Department (RG-23)

193.0 Linear Feet 265 boxes

The collection's inclusive dates are 1936-2015, 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.

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American Art Porcelain Box 31633 Box 104, Folder RG23.01.0.1095

Cybis porcelain brochure; shipping information and receipts; panel proofs; exhibitors information "lent"; clippings; correspondence with Ruder & Finn Inc. (co-organizers); checklists; drawings (photocopies); correspondence with Cybis porcelain (co-organizer)

  1. Series 1: Exhibition Files

Architects, Designers, Photographers Box 31633 Box 104, Folder RG23.01.0.1096

2 photographs; catalog; invitation; correspondence with Robert B. Widder (juror); correspondence with entrants; internal memos; slide talk lists; correspondence with juror (Morris Ketchum, Jr.)

  1. Series 1: Exhibition Files
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Catalogs (PB-01)

63.25 Linear Feet 2,453 items
The collection is part of the Publications Archive, and is comprised of archival copies of all catalogs published by the museum, as well as catalogs for exhibitions that were shown at the museum, but produced by other institutions. Other catalogs highlight particular aspects of the museum's permanent collection.
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Catalogs (PB-01) 63.25 Linear Feet 2,453 items

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
The collection is part of the Publications Archive, and is comprised of archival copies of all catalogs published by the museum, as well as catalogs for exhibitions that were shown at the museum, but produced by other institutions. Other catalogs highlight particular aspects of the museum's permanent collection.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Records of the Statewide Partnerships Department (RG-15)

51.25 Linear Feet 57 boxes; 1,918 folders

This series includes annual reports, program files, project files, BRAVO files, and others. Most date from the late 1970s to the early 1980s.

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