Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Richmond, Virginia

Multiple Exhibitions

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. 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 5,000 years. VMFA’s permanent holdings encompass more than 35,000 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 home to important collections of English silver and 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 80-year history. 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 more information, visit www.vmfa.museum.

1717 Design has designed exhibitions and special projects for several art galleries including the following:

The Fabergé and Russian Decorative Arts Gallery Casework

Thanks to the generosity of Lillian Thomas Pratt and other donors, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts owns one of the finest Fabergé collections in existence. The Russian jeweler Karl Fabergé crafted objects for the Russian imperial family in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including specially commissioned Easter eggs. VMFA’s collection, the largest public collection of Fabergé outside of Russia, includes five of the thirteen Russian imperial Easter eggs that are in the United States. Five new galleries have been prepared to showcase 280 Fabergé objects and other Russian decorative arts. The galleries feature both innovative displays and a range of interactive components designed to inform, engage, and delight.

Native American Art: The Robert and Nancy Nooter Collection Gallery Exhibition

The Nooter Collection includes 150 North American Indian ceramics, baskets, and rugs ranging from the Pacific Northwest coast to the U.S. Southwest tribes representing more than 50 different Native American cultures. The Pre‐Columbian collection includes ceramic vessels, textiles, sculptures, and metalwork objects from Meso, Central, and South America. This is the first time the collection, which is especially rich in Peruvian gold jewelry and Mayan ceramics, has been on permanent display.

The Jerome and Rita Fans Collection of English Silver Annex Gallery Exhibition

In 1997 Rita Gans generously gave the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts an outstanding array of English silver from the collection she and her late husband, Jerome, had amassed over some thirty years. Thanks to the munificent gift in 2010 of more stunning silver collected by her during the past thirteen years, the museum is home to one of the most important collections of English silver in the United States.

The Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom Graphic Rail

This lavishly adorned room resided in the New York home of Arabella Worsham. When she went off to marry railroad magnate Collis P. Huntington, she sold her home to the Rockefellers. Seeing that the room was a true model of late 19th-century decorative arts, the family donated it to the Museum of the City of New York. In 2008, the Museum of the City of New York was ready to deaccession, or remove the room and all of its pieces from its collection. As if by fate, the VMFA was in the midst of an expansion project and were able to find a place in its new American art wing to install it. The room now serves as a magnificent showcase of the illustrious interior design of the Gilded Age.

Modern & Contemporary Art Gallery ”Meet the Artists” Kiosk

VMFA’s Modern & Contemporary collection includes European art after 1900, American art after 1950, and a global collection of 21st-century art.