Richmond, Virginia — The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) announced that Bank of America is the National Tour Sponsor for the highly anticipated exhibition Whistler to Cassatt: American Painters in France. The exhibition, which focuses on a group of aspiring 19th- and early 20th-century artists who left the United States to train abroad and then became some of the greatest influencers to shape American art, debuted at the Denver Art Museum and will be on view at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond from April 16, 2022 to July 21, 2022.
This commitment continues a longstanding partnership between Bank of America and VMFA. Since 2018, the company has made significant investments in conservation projects, education programs, VMFA’s Artmobile, VMFA On the Road, and has also provided operating support.
“For more than two decades, Bank of America has been one of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ most generous corporate partners,” said VMFA Director and CEO Alex Nyerges. “Every aspect of our mission — to collect, preserve and exhibit art; to encourage the study of the arts; and to enrich the lives of all — has benefited from their generosity. We are grateful for their commitment to the arts and for their continued support for the museum’s exhibitions, programs and projects.”
As the museum has navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, Bank of America provided an emergency relief grant and sponsored VMFA’s critically acclaimed 2021 exhibition, The Dirty South: Contemporary Art, Material Culture and the Sonic Impulse. To extend that groundbreaking exhibition’s reach, the company also provided support for a related virtual speaker series and two artist talks.
“At Bank of America, we believe that the arts give communities the power to thrive and connect with each other,” says Victor Branch, the company’s market president for the Richmond region. “Through outstanding exhibitions and a commitment to making its collection accessible through free admission, statewide outreach and exceptional digital resources, VMFA plays an important role in our community and throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
The Bank of America Art Conservation Project, which provides funding to preserve historically or culturally significant works of art in danger of deterioration, has helped advance VMFA’s efforts toward accessibility. One of a handful of museums to be awarded two grants through the program, VMFA received funding in 2016 to treat 60 works on paper from the Ludwig and Rosy Fischer Collection of German Expressionism and again in 2018, to preserve 146 photographs from the Kamoinge Workshop Collection.
In addition to preserving important works of art for future generations, the two conservation grants helped expose new audiences to these works. The 2018 conservation project grant from Bank of America was critical to the development of the museum’s 2020 exhibition Working Together: Louis Draper and Kamoinge Workshop, which has traveled to the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York and the Cincinnati Art Museum in Ohio, and is slated to open at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California this July. The digitization component of both grants ensured that these light-sensitive works can be enjoyed even after the works on paper and photographs are returned to storage.
For more information about the museum’s art collection and upcoming exhibitions, visit www.VMFA.museum and to learn more about Bank of America’s commitment to the arts, visit BankOfAmerica.com.
About the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Virginia, is one of the largest comprehensive art museums in the United States. VMFA, which opened in 1936, is a state agency and privately endowed educational institution. Its purpose is to collect, preserve, exhibit, and interpret art, and to encourage the study of the arts. Through the Office of Statewide Partnerships program, the museum offers curated exhibitions, arts-related audiovisual programs, symposia, lectures, conferences, and workshops by visual and performing artists. In addition to presenting a wide array of special exhibitions, the museum provides visitors with the opportunity to experience a global collection of art that spans more than 6,000 years. VMFA’s permanent holdings encompass nearly 50,000 artworks, including the largest public collection of Fabergé outside of Russia, the finest collection of Art Nouveau outside of Paris, and one of the nation’s finest collections of American art. VMFA is also home to important collections of Chinese art, English silver, and French Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, British sporting, and modern and contemporary art, as well as renowned South Asian, Himalayan and African art. In May 2010, VMFA opened its doors to the public after a transformative expansion, the largest in its history.
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has begun its $190 million expansion and renovation project led by the international architecture firm SmithGroup. Tentatively scheduled for completion in 2026, the project consists of adding a new wing of nearly 170,000 square feet and renovating 45,000 square feet of existing spaces, while maintaining four acres of green space in the Sculpture Garden. Visitors will experience a seamless journey through the collections in the new wing, which will house contemporary art, African art, American art, a new suite of galleries for rotating special exhibitions, and a special-events space. The expansion and renovation will enable the museum to display more art, welcome more visitors, and provide more enjoyment.
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is the only art museum in the United States open 365 days a year with free general admission. For additional information, telephone 804.340.1400 or visit www.VMFA.museum.
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Media Contacts
Jan Hatchette | 804.204.2721 | jan.hatchette@VMFA.museum
Amy Peck | 804.773.1791 | amy.peck@VMFA.museum
Kyla Coleman | 804.204.2702 | kyla.coleman@VMFA.museum
Matt Card | 703.987.7427 | matthew.card@BankOfAmerica.com
200 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd., Richmond, VA 23220