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 Level Series
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Eda Carter Williams Personal Papers (SC-12), 1940/1993

0.1 Linear Feet 1 box; 4 folders
The collection documents the service of Eda Carter Williams to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Williams was nominated to be a Trustee of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in 1954, and served for 11 years until 1965. She was also a founding member of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Council in 1955 and served on the Council for 45 years, until 2000.
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Correspondence, 1940/1993 4 folders

This series is comprised of correspondence from Williams' work as a Trustee and Council member of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Enid Marx and Evelyn Phaup Correspondence Collection, 1982/1992

2 boxes
Top 3 results view all 4
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Records of the Virginia Society for the Photographic Arts (SC-19), 1975/2004

2.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes; 75 folders
This collection documents the history of the Virginia Society for the Photographic Arts (VSPA), from its founding in 1975 in Charlottesville to the mid-2000s when the organization disbanded. The material highlights VSPA's mission to promote art created by photographic processes through its outreach, activities, and exhibitions. History and membership files detail VSPA's administration over the years, while the newsletters provide an overview of all VSPA activities. The rest of the collection documents the active exhibition and event schedule that VSPA presented at Virginia museums, galleries, and arts organizations as the group worked to garner support for photography as a fine art.
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Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Records of the Richmond Artists Association (SC-09), 1955/2005

5 Linear Feet 4 boxes; 161 folders
The collection documents the history of the Richmond Artists Association (RAA), from its founding in 1955 by artist Westwood Winfree, to 2005 when the group joined with another Richmond art organization to form the Metropolitan Richmond Artists Association. The material highlights RAA's growth and achievements over five decades, including early annual exhibitions at the Carillon and Miller and Rhoads, as well as numerous other exhibitions. Meeting minutes, officer files, and membership materials detail RAA's administration over the years, while the newsletters provide an overview of all RAA activities. Several files highlight the RAA's relationship with other arts organizations, especially the Federated Arts Council of Richmond.
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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.
Top 3 results view all 11

Series 1: Manuscripts, 1947/2005

This series is compromised of correspondence, clippings, notebooks, handbills, screenplays, and other ephemera that document Draper's life, education, and career.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Museum Organizations, 1935/2016

11 Linear Feet 45 binders
This collection documents the visual history of the various events put on by VMFA Museum Organizations for the years 1935-2016, comprising photographic prints, slides, programs, and related ephemera for museum organizations, including: Friends of Art, Museum Council, Community Affairs, Patrons, Trustees, and more.
Top 3 results view all 15

Series 11: VIPs, 1935/2007 Binder PH-04-11 Binder 36, Binder PH-04-11 Binder 37, Binder PH-04-11 Binder 38, Binder PH-04-11 Binder 39, Binder PH-04-11 Binder 40, Binder PH-04-11 Binder 41

This series is a varied and diverse grouping of photographic materials depicting significant figures from the museum's history,for the years 1935-2007, including: high level donors, curators from the VMFA and other museums, artists, celebrities who visited, directors, politicians, and more.

Series 12: Fellows, 1990/2009 Binder PH-04-12 Binder 42

This series documents the events involving museum fellowship recipients for the years 1990-2009.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Exhibitions Photo Archives, 1936/2010

52 Linear Feet 210 binders
This collection documents the visual history of various VMFA exhibitions for the years 1936-2010, comprising photographic prints, slides, programs, and related ephemera.
Top 3 results view all 73

Series 10: Exhibitions, 1946 Binder PH-03-10 Binder 15, Binder PH-03-10 Binder 16

Exhibitions listed for 1946 are as follows:

Series 11: Exhibitions, 1947 Binder PH-03-11 Binder 17

Exhibitions listed for 1947 are as follows:

Series 12: Exhibitions, 1948 Binder PH-03-12 Binder 18

Exhibitions listed for 1948 are as follows:

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.
Top 3 results view all 10

Series 10: Other Artists and Friends, 1949/2020 3 boxes 2 boxes 10 folders

This series is comprised of correspondence, photographs, slides, negatives, newspaper clippings, ephemera, and more related to other artists and friends around Benjamin L. Wigfall.

Series 1: Benjamin L. Wigfall, 1944/2023 3 boxes 2 boxes 10 folders Box VA-12 Box 1, Box VA-12 Box 2, Binder VA-12 Box 10, VA-12 Box 38, VA-12 File 1

This series is compromised of correspondence, clippings, photographs, magazines, art reproductions, and other material related to Wigfall's life, education, career, and family.

Series 2: Mary Carter Wigfall, 1949/2017 1 box 2 boxes 5 folders

This series is comprised of correspondence, clippings, photographs, magazines, art reproductions, and other material related to Carter Wigfall's life, education, career, and family.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Education and Outreach Photo Archives, 1950/2010

97 boxes 97 binders
This collection documents the history of the various Education and Outreach initiatives, comprising everything from the VMFA's Artmobile program to art classes, lectures and symposia to family open houses, and includes photographic prints, slides, programs, and related ephemera.
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Series 10: Studio School, 1992/2010 4 boxes 4 binders Binder PH-01-10 Binder 1, Binder 1, Binder PH-01-10 Binder 2, Binder 2, Binder PH-01-10 Binder 3, Binder 3, Binder PH-01-10 Binder 4, Binder 4

This series documents the various classes held at the Studio School, aka the HealthSouth Visual Arts Center on Grove Avenue, and includes contact sheets, photographic prints, and class catalogs.

Series 11: Teachers Workshops, 1994/2005 6 boxes 6 binders Binder PH-01-11 Binder 1, Binder 1, Binder PH-01-11 Binder 2, Binder 2, Binder PH-01-11 Binder 3, Binder 3, Binder PH-01-11 Binder 4, Binder 4, Binder PH-01-11 Binder 5, Binder 5, Binder PH-01-11 Binder 6, Binder 6

This series documents the various Teachers Workshops, institutes, and programs held at the VMFA from 1994-2005, and includes photographic prints, contact sheets, slides, and event programs.

Series 12: Children's Studio, 2002/2010 2 boxes 2 binders Binder PH-01-12 Binder 1, Binder 1, Binder PH-01-12 Binder 2, Binder 2

This series documents the studio art programs, special exhibitions, and printed materials created by the Children's Studio for the benefit of children and their families, and includes photographic prints, slides, and program catalogs.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Records of the Aaron Siskind Foundation (SC-38), 1920/2020

1.5 Linear Feet 4 boxes; 16 folders
The collection documents the activities of the Aaron Siskind Foundation during its years of operation, from 1984 to 2020. Aaron Siskind directed that his estate become a resource that would support contemporary photography and reward and encourage excellence in its practitioners. Since his death in 1991, the Aaron Siskind Foundation provided cash grants to individual photographic artists on a yearly basis until disbanding in 2020.
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Series 1: Aaron Siskind, 1920/2020 2 boxes 2 boxes; 7 folders

This series contains essays, printed material, and photographs documenting the life and art of Aaron Siskind. Additionally, the series contains photocopies of original print materials held by the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona.

Series 2: Aaron Siskind Foundation, 1983/2019 3 boxes 3 boxes; 9 folders

This series contains the correspondence, legal documents, and media of the Aaron Siskind Foundation. Materials within document the establishment of the foundation, its functions, and its dissolution.

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.