Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
State art museum open every day of the year, with free general admission and 40,000 works.
Founded on a bequest from Judge John Barton Payne and opened in January 1936, the VMFA was the first state-supported art museum in the United States. Peebles & Ferguson designed the original English Renaissance-style building in limestone on Richmond's Boulevard. Four later additions have quadrupled its size, most recently the McGlothlin Wing of 2010 by the London-based Rick Mather Architects with SMBW, whose glazed atrium and Cochrane Atrium link the older ranges.
The collection of roughly 40,000 objects spans 6,000 years and includes one of the largest public holdings of Faberge outside Russia, strong Art Nouveau and Art Deco rooms, South Asian and Himalayan sculpture, African art and American painting. Outside is a sculpture garden with work by Chihuly and others. A further expansion, designed by SmithGroup and budgeted at 261 million dollars, is in progress; the museum stays open throughout, and free general admission continues.
Highlights
- Faberge collection, among the largest outside Russia
- McGlothlin Wing of 2010 and its glazed atrium
- Art Nouveau and Art Deco decorative arts galleries
- Sculpture garden beside the 1936 limestone building
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