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 1982
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Louis H. Draper Artist Archives (VA-04), 1945/2005

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 Collectors' Circle (RG-19), 1959/2007

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

Catalogs (PB-01), 1936/2020

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), 1936/2020 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 Registration Department (RG-08), 1919/1994

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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Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Records of the Exhibitions Department (RG-23), 1936/2015

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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Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Willie Anne Wright Artist Archives (VA-02), 1944/2021

47 boxes 47 boxes; 724 folders
The collection documents the career of renowned lensless photographer Willie Anne Wright. Wright's paintings, serigraphs and drawings were her professional focus until 1972 when pinhole photography became her primary creative medium. Comprised mainly of the exhibition files Wright maintained, as well as information about gallery representation and art sales, the collection traces the evolution of her artistic journey over four decades.
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Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Records of the Trustees (RG-02), 1933/2010

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

Collateral and Other Publications (PB-05), 1952/2023

34 Linear Feet 1,418 items and 52 boxes of uncounted items
The collection is part of the Publications Archive, and is comprised of archival copies of collateral and numerous other types of publications created by the museum, including theater programs, gallery guides, statewide services catalogs, marketing reports, and Council publications.
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Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Records of the Statewide Partnerships Department (RG-15), 1935/2012

51.25 Linear Feet 57 boxes; 1,918 folders
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Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Director's Correspondence (RG-01), 1927/2009

248.5 Linear Feet 204 boxes; 7,156 folders
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Content Warning

ARVAS is an aggregator of archival resources. ARVAS does not have control of the descriptive language used in our members’ finding aids.

Finding aids may contain historical terms and phrases, reflecting the shared attitudes and values of the community from which they were collected, but are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical or mental ability; religion; sex; and sexual orientation and gender identity.

Many institutions and organizations are in the process of reviewing and revising their descriptive language, with the intent to describe materials in more humanizing, inclusive, and harm-reductive ways. As members revise their descriptive language, their changes will eventually be reflected in their ARVAS finding aids.

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