December 29, 2015
This post is one in a series highlighting the special exhibition Nightfall: Prints of the Dark Hours, which explores evocative artistic images of night, called nocturnes. The exhibition is on view through March 22, 2016, in the VMFA Works on Paper Focus Gallery. Admission is free. During the 19th and 20th centuries, rampant industrialization and…
December 15, 2015
“Fantastic free museum! VMFA has so many wonderful artworks, historic artifacts, and collections to browse and learn about.” – Nikki L. Thank you for all your support in making VMFA one of Yelp’s top-ranked museums in the USA! Read the entire article here!
July 23, 2015
It started with a great idea from a VMFA educator. The African Art curator then vetted the idea, suggesting authentic Ndebele patterns. The VMFA Shop created blueprints and built three tiny houses. Interns and staff drew the Ndebele designs on the houses. Kids at the Celebrate African and African American Art Family Day painted the…
July 16, 2015
In 2004, VCU graduate student Will May received a VMFA Visual Arts Fellowship. The award was of such benefit to him as a student that the photographer applied again in 2014, once he was established in his career. And like 139 artists who have received multiple Fellowships in the 75-year history of the program, May…
July 7, 2015
VMFA submitted the following blog post about the history of Japanese tattoo to Tattoo Artist Magazine. Read “Japan’s Complex Relationship with Tattoo,” published on Jul 2, 2015. Tattoo Artist Magazine is the only tattoo-related publication created, owned, and financed by a tattoo artist, designed specifically for tattoo artists and the growing international community. The magazine’s…
April 28, 2015
In 2014, VMFA commissioned South African artist Esther Mahlangu to create two large-scale paintings for the museum’s collection. The most renowned artist among South Africa’s Ndebele people, Mahlangu has developed the art of mural painting from a tradition of designs painted on the exterior of rural homes to projects created in a global, contemporary art…
March 25, 2015
Many of the paintings you’ll find in Van Gogh, Manet, and Matisse: The Art of the Flower are of lavish bouquets bursting with color and beauty. In fact, Vincent van Gogh spent 1886 and 1887 painting two dozen such floral still lifes, several of which are included in this exhibition. However, in the winter of…
March 11, 2015
We recently made improvements to the Mellon French Galleries. While I have received much positive feedback from visitors about the changes, I get the same question again and again: “What’s with that white frame?” Glad you asked. Although the simple white frame on Georges Seurat’s Landscape with Houses (which VMFA recently received from the Life…
March 3, 2015
As an art lover, there is always the temptation to reach out and touch objects in works of art to confirm what our eyes are telling us. But we resist (even the slightest fingerprint contains destructive chemicals that endanger even the hardest surfaces). However, few artists compel us to go against our better judgment like…
February 11, 2015
In 1874, French printmaker Félix Bracquemond (1833-1914) submitted more works than any other artist to the inaugural impressionist exhibition. The work Bracquemond displayed—at his friend Edgar Degas’s invitation—included portraits of his artistic contemporaries, naturalistic landscapes, reproductive etchings of historical European paintings, and emblematic images of birds accompanied by poems (such as Margot the Critique, or The…
