A blog by staff and others about the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
In honor of Hanukkah
December 7, 2012
Though he was born near Venice, Giovanni Battista Piranesi is rightly most often associated with ancient Rome, whose glories he depicted in a series of etchings and engravings. Piranesi’s work as printmaker was multifarious. He produced both real views and imagined views (Capricci). Of the latter, the most famous are the Prisons (Carceri,1749-50), hallucinatory views…
The magic of glass blowing
November 27, 2012
There was a chill in the November air but the furnaces glowed red-hot at Ryan Gothrup’s mobile hot-glass studio in VMFA’s Robins Sculpture Garden. As an intrigued crowd gathered ‘round, Gothrup, an adjunct professor of glass at Tidewater Community College, demonstrated how twirling a molten glob of glass at the end of rod can be…
VMFA Blog: Politics with a side of art
November 6, 2012
As this highly charged election season nears its end, a quietly reflective look at some topical and historical American art currently on view in VMFA’s galleries seems in order. This 1856 print after George Caleb Bingham’s Stump Speaking is a great place to begin. The image may be understood as a personal expression of the…
Take time to stop and eat the roses
October 26, 2012
Take time to stop and eat the roses. While you may have heard of dandelion wine and maybe even sprinkling flower petals on a salad, the closest you probably get to having blossoms on your dinner table is as the centerpiece. But on Thursday afternoon, at the Edible Flowers event (part of the special exhibition…
Chihuly inspires great video coverage
October 19, 2012
Dale Chihuly gave a tour of his installation to working media at VMFA. Some beautiful and informative videos resulted. Which is your favorite? Richmond.com did a wonderful job, as always. A new group, Suggested Serving, has made a great entry into our local media and social media community. The Glass Master Arrives: Chihuly at VMFA…
Judith Godwin was inspired by dance
October 4, 2012
As I listened to Dr. Sarah Eckhart, the Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, and Robbie Kinter, from VCU’s Department of Dance and Choreography, discussing the relationship between modern dance and Judith Godwin’s paintings, I felt a real connection with Ms. Godwin. Sarah and Robbie made her come alive just like her oversized canvases. …
Fellowships: Free money for Virginia’s artists and art historians
September 27, 2012
When did you last come across a chance to win free money, and be recognized for your talented work at the same time? Sounds like a pretty sweet deal, right? Well, it’s a reality with the VMFA Visual Arts Fellowship program! For the past 72 years, the Fellowship has given away thousands of dollars each…
Better Than the Eiffel Tower
September 26, 2012
My husband and I took our eleven year old granddaughter to Paris this past summer. When asked what she wanted to see, she quickly responded– the Eiffel Tower. We couldn’t argue with that. Who doesn’t like the Eiffel Tower? Loving French cuisine, we next focused on lunch. A friend recommended the Jules Verne restaurant, located…
Outstanding young talent gains national attention
September 22, 2012
Anna Laughter is a rising 10th grader at Douglas Freeman HS in Henrico County. Last year as a freshman she took Art I under the instruction of Erin Murtagh. Her teacher submitted one of Anna’s drawings into The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards 2012 contest. Her drawing has received a number of awards and distinctions…
Antietam and the Civil War – another artist’s perspective
September 18, 2012
Yesterday’s post on Antietam has relevance today with the PBS airing of “Death and the Civil War” tonight at 8 pm EST. According to the WCVE Community Idea Stations: “The shattering Civil War death toll transformed hundreds of thousands of individual lives and the life of the nation as well, from its understanding of the…