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 1939
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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Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Leslie Cheek, Jr. Personal Papers (SC-02), 1931/1993

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 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 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.
3 results

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
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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

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.
2 results

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.

Series 1: Annual Reports, 1935/2008

This series is comprised 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. Annual Reports were not published from 1977-1981 and ceased publication entirely in 2009.

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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Records of Virginia Arts Organizations (SC-03), 1888/1942 0.5 Linear Feet 1 box, 12 folders; 113 items

Academy of Sciences and Fine Arts
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.
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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