Featured Events

Early in her career, artist Valerie Sanson worked as a fashion coordinator for Richmond’s famed Thalhimer department stores. The retail experience she gained there, coupled with her own creative bent, later drove her to open one of the most imaginative home accessory and gift boutiques in Richmond: Lane Sanson. Her love of fashion soon inspired…

The master jewelers of Artel replicate the timeless tradition of Carl Fabergé, whose masterpieces were sought by tsars and nobility and are still treasured today. Objects include Fabergé-inspired pendants, Russian lacquer boxes and dolls, carved Russian Santas, and more! Made of sterling silver, 24k gold vermeil, and enhanced by Swarovski crystals, fine Italian enamels, and semi-precious stones,…

One of our favorite artists returns to VMFA Shop! Gabriel Ofiesh, a graduate of UVA and Charlottesville resident, is bringing his complete collection to VMFA just in time for the holidays. His signature jewelry design is both contemporary and sophisticated, using a mixture of 18k gold, sterling silver, precious and semi-precious stones in non-traditional ways.…

Winner of the 2016 Art in Literature: Mary Lynn Kotz Award Join us for a talk by this year’s winning author. Art in Literature: The Mary Lynn Kotz Award is given jointly by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Library of Virginia. This year’s winner is Portraits at an Exhibition, a novel about a…

Great changes took place in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many traditional, agrarian-based communities were giving way to urban centers largely controlled by industrial corporations. Captains of industry, including John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Andrew Carnegie, amassed fortunes through their interests in steel production, shipping and railroads, and…

What can food tell us about history, economics, literature, and language? This workshop delves into the intersection of food and art. Topics include the impact of agriculture on early civilizations, the consequences of the Columbian exchange, and contemporary culinary diplomacy. Activities incorporate analyses of food-related works of art that serve as primary sources for investigations…

When VMFA’s doors opened for the first time in 1936, the building’s site and surrounding area already had a fascinating history. Many reminders of earlier eras can be seen in and around the sculpture garden today. This workshop provides opportunities to look back through time at the changes that have taken place on these grounds,…

“The Eight” were a group of 20th-century artists dedicated to creating art that provided an unflinchingly honest, and sometimes ugly, view of urban reality. Also known as members of the Ash Can school, these painters, illustrators, and printmakers turned to the margins of society for their inspiration: immigrants, the working-class, and urban poverty. In this…

This workshop explores the integral role that photography played in affecting change during the Civil Rights Movement in America. Topics of discussion include James Van De Zee’s expressive documentation of African American life in New York City in the 1920s and 30s and the VMFA exhibition Gordon Parks: Back to Fort Scott. Activities include a…

A Pre-Event to the Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival, Nov 17–19, at the Byrd Theater, Carytown Independent Indigenous Cinema 3:00–5:00 pm Dylan McLaughlin’s This is a Stereotype (2014; 40 min) and other selected shorts. This is a Stereotype is an artistic narrative about the possible causes and effects surrounding Indigenous identity with the intention to socially…