Any nonprofit organization in Virginia that is a current Statewide Partner and is able to meet the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ security requirements (outlined below) is eligible to borrow Educational Exhibitions for FREE.
A Horse of Course explores the numerous ways in which the horse has inspired artists throughout the ages. No animal has been more important to us, or figured more prominently in our art, than the horse. This exhibition is a testament to the magnificence of the horse throughout history and its changing image over time. A wide variety of artists are represented, ranging from George Stubbs, to Edgar Degas, to Deborah Butterfield
What IS American Art? Is it an 18th century portrait that captures the pride of a citizen in the newly formed United States? Is it a magnificent landscape that presents a stunning vista of the American West? Perhaps it is a lavish still life that flaunts the wealth of the Gilded Age, or an abstract composition that challenges the eye to dance with it across the canvas.
This exhibition features high-quality photographic reproductions of works by African American artists spanning nearly two hundred years, from the 19th century through today. Encounter striking landscapes in the style of the Hudson River School, cityscapes integrating the mode of French Fauvism, the craftsmanship of a 19th century professional furniture maker, and the contemporary integration of Japanese ukiyo-e style prints with the symbolism of present-day urban American life. The exhibition showcases the great diversity in style, media, and subject matter of African American art.
Virginia emerged from the American Revolution battle-scarred and debt-ridden. Tidewater planters could no longer afford to construct many fine buildings, as they had done in the decades before. Population and power began to shift toward the central and western areas of the state, a movement symbolized by the transfer of Virginia's capital inland, from Williamsburg to Richmond, in 1780.
What can the visual arts tell us about an individual or community? This exhibition explores the concept of identity in traditional African art and culture by focusing on objects that speak to various roles and personal status within a society. Featuring twelve high-quality photographic reproductions of objects in VMFA’s African collection, this display exposes the union between art and life in Africa.
This fascinating educational exhibition examines how the new colony in Virginia fit into the cultural, historical, and geographical context of the day — and how the story of Jamestown has continued to inspire American artists. Twelve reproductions of images from VMFA's collection combine with explanatory text and an introductory panel to illustrate the connections between the struggling colony and the world of 1607.
Portraits reveal much about the history and culture of the people portrayed. They can tell us who they were, how they lived, and what they thought about themselves. This exhibition focuses on the work of eleven 19th-century French painters who worked during the first era in which photography was used as a portrait medium. The twelve photographic reproductions of paintings from the VMFA Mellon Collection offer the viewer an opportunity to explore the ways in which these artists broke with tradition by depicting real people as they existed in the contemporary world.
The nineteenth-century painter George Catlin (1796–1872) recorded the appearance and customs of Native Americans for his generation and for posterity. Beginning in 1830, Catlin made numerous trips to the American West to document the “natural liberty and independence” of a disappearing culture.
Can you picture the glory and grandeur of ancient Greece and Rome? Athletes contended for victory, fame—and coveted prizes—in the first Olympic games. Trading ships loaded with olive oil, wine, grain, and other goods sailed the blue-green waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Poets, politicians, playwrights, philosophers, sculptors, architects, and artisans created a legacy that has inspired Western culture throughout the following millennia.
Meteorologists aren't the only people who watch the sky. So do artists - for ideas, subjects and inspiration. They Call It Stormy Weather explores the numerous ways in which weather and the seasons have inspired artists throughout the ages. From thunderstorms on raging seas to sunny skies above spring fields, artists have responded to weather and other natural forces through a range of media and styles.
Through the Generations contains photographic reproductions of African-American art from the early 20th century to the present that were chosen from the VMFA collection. The images in this exhibition demonstrate the growth of the museum's collection of African-American art, beginning with the first piece acquired by the museum (Jacob Lawrence, Subway - Home From Work, 1943) to one of the most recent (iona rozeal brown, a³ blackface #59, 2003).
What's new on Jamestown Island? Archaeologists from the Jamestown Rediscovery project at Historic Jamestowne are uncovering James Fort's oldest artifacts, and creating a revised picture of life in the first permanent English settlement in America! This limited security exhibition is perfect for schools, libraries, and art centers.
The word "Impressionism" makes most people think of beautiful, sunlit paintings of the French countryside, glorious gardens and lily ponds, and fashionable Parisians enjoining life in charming cafes. But in 1874, when the men and women who came to be known as the Impressionists first exhibited their work, it was considered shocking and outrageous by all but the most to forward-thinking viewers. Why did these young artists cause such an uproar?