Archives

Collections

The VMFA Archives at the Margaret R. and Robert M. Freeman Library consists of a diverse and growing collection of permanent materials, covering museum history from its beginnings in the 1930s until today. The Archives includes both institutional records from over 25 museum departments as well as special collections related to the museum and the history of art in Virginia. For more information, please contact Heidi Traulsen Gregory, VMFA Archivist.

For more information on particular collections, see the finding aids listed below. More finding aids will be added as they are created.

   SC-02 Leslie Cheek, Jr. Personal Papers, 1931-1993(PDF; 227KB)
   SC-03 Records of Virginia Arts Organizations, 1888-1942(PDF; 172KB)
   SC-04 Records of Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Council, 1955-2005 (PDF; 157KB) 
   SC-06 T. Catesby Jones Personal Papers, 1946-1949 (PDF; 63KB) 
   SC-07 Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers, 1932-1947(PDF; 116KB)
   SC-09 Records of the Richmond Artists Association, 1955-2005(PDF; 92KB) 

Exhibition History

The Freeman Library maintains a comprehensive list of the more than 1,100 exhibitions held at VMFA from its opening in 1936 through 2009. There is a file for each exhibition in the Freeman Library, which may contain publicity clippings, invitations, checklists, correspondence, and other ephemera. The Archives also maintains a publications collection which includes copies of every exhibition catalog published. You can view the entire exhibition history by decade on our website.