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 1936
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
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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1006, 1936 1 page Box SC-07 Box 1, Folder 5, Item SC07.01.5.048

Transcription: [double-headed eagle] The Schaffer Collection of Russian Imperial Art Treasures ROCKEFELLER CENTER, NEW YORK February 1, 1936 #1006 Extremely interesting water color luncheon menu of the 21st of June, 1896, in the domain ""Eleenskole", which belonged to the Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, uncle of Nicholas II, the late Czar of Russia. This menu was written and designed by the Grand Duchess Victoria Mellita of Hesse, wife of the Empress' brother, Grand Duke Ernst-Ludvig of Hesse, and who later became the wife of the Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich under the name of Victoria Feodorovna. The menu bears the following original signatures: Czar Nicholas II; Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna; Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich; Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, sister of the Czarina and wife of the Grand Duke Sergei; Grand Duke Ernst-Ludwig of Hesse, brother of the Czarina; Victoria Mellita, his wife; and Victoria, Princess of Battenberg, sister of the Czarina.

  1. Series 1: Schaffer Collection, 1934/1947
  2. Series 1.5: Item Descriptions, 1934/1945
  3. Folder 5

1035, 1936 1 page Box SC-07 Box 1, Folder 5, Item SC07.01.5.063

Transcription: [double-headed eagle] The Schaffer Collection of Russian Imperial Art Treasures ROCKEFELLER CENTER, NEW YORK April 9, 1936 #1035 Most unusual gold and silver picture frame enameled in brilliant emerald green over a finely chased surface. Designed in a five-petal arrangement, the center bears a photograph of Nicholas II, the late Czar of Russia, enclosed in beadwork, while in each of the five sectors, oval panels frame the portraits of the five children of the Czar: the Czarevitch Alexis, and the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia. The borders of this very rare example are embellished with wreaths, rosettes and bows of classical derivation. The back is paneled with ivory. Executed by "Carl Fabergé", court jeweler to the Russian Imperial family, who has so often been termed the "Cellini of the nineteenth century." From the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo.

  1. Series 1: Schaffer Collection, 1934/1947
  2. Series 1.5: Item Descriptions, 1934/1945
  3. Folder 5
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.
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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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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.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

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

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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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

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

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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Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Annual Reports (PB-02), 1935/2018

7.5 Linear Feet 239 items
The collection is part of the Publications Archive, and is comprised of archival copies of all Annual Reports published by the museum since 1936. Issued by the Director's Office, these reports cover every aspect of the museum's activities over the course of a given year, including acquisitions, exhibitions, programs, staffing, donations, etc. The collection also contains archival copies of the Honor Roll of Contributors, which is published by the museum at irregular intervals.
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Annual Reports (PB-02), 1935/2018 7.5 Linear Feet 239 items

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
The collection is part of the Publications Archive, and is comprised of archival copies of all Annual Reports published by the museum since 1936. Issued by the Director's Office, these reports cover every aspect of the museum's activities over the course of a given year, including acquisitions, exhibitions, programs, staffing, donations, etc. The collection also contains archival copies of the Honor Roll of Contributors, which is published by the museum at irregular intervals.
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.
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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.

Series 7: New York, 1917/2018 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), 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.
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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.

Series 1: Exhibition Catalogs, 1936/2020

This series is comprised of catalogs published for exhibitions held at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. A small number of catalogs were used as texts to support an exhibition, but are not actual exhibition catalogs, such as publications about collectors, or publications created by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES).

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