history of the muscarelle

A Brief History of the Art Collections at the College and the Muscarelle Museum of Art

 

The Muscarelle Museum of Art was a gift to the College of William and Mary from alumni and friends. In the 1970s, a visitor remarked to then-President Thomas A. Graves, Jr. (picture below right) that there was a Georgia O’Keeffe painting hanging, unprotected, on a wall on campus. This led President Graves to wonder what other treasures were scattered across campus. To find out, he enlisted the aid of Miles Chappell of the Art History department to conduct a survey to determine what artworks the College owned.

 

The survey revealed that over nearly 300 years, the College of William and Mary had amassed a sizeable collection of art and established the need for a museum to preserve and protect them.   The Museum’s art collection began in 1732 when the third Earl of Burlington gave The College of William and Mary a portrait of physicist, Sir Robert Boyle. Among other early treasures were portraits such as those by English artist Charles Bridges of Mann Page II (pictured at left) and Mrs. Mann Page and Son John. 

 

Subsequent gifts extended the collection beyond its roots in American portraiture; the treasures in the collection now span the centuries, including works by Hans Hofmann, Picasso, Matisse and John Stuart Copley.

 

The major benefactor was Joseph L. Muscarelle (W&M ’27) (depicted at right) and his wife Margaret, who generously supported the formation of a museum and whose family has continued their support throughout the years.

 

The Museum opened in 1983 with Glenn Lowry (currently director at MOMA in New York) as the first Director, and underwent a major building construction and remodeling project in 1987, which resulted in a facility twice the original size. The “world’s first solar painting,” designed by Gene Davis, the noted Washington Color School painter, transforms the south façade of the Museum into a dramatic and innovative work of art when monumental tubes, filled with colored water, are lit from behind. The title, Sun Sonata, describes both the rhythmic pattern of colors visible at night and the function of the wall as a solar energy collection system by day.

 

Mark Johnson succeeded Mr. Lowry and under his direction, the museum was expanded in 1987 to nearly double its original size. Mr. Johnson is now the Director at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in Alabama. The third Director was Bonnie G. Kelm, who served from 1996 – 2002, and who recently retired from the University of California-Santa Barbara Art Museum.

 

The museum is currently led by Aaron H. De Groft, who joined the Muscarelle in 2005. Dr. De Groft came to Williamsburg from the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, FL, and is a 1988 graduate of William and Mary. 

 

The Muscarelle Museum of Art was accredited by the American Association of Museums in 1988 and received subsequent accreditation in 2000. The museum was the first university/college museum of art in the Commonwealth of Virginia to be accredited by the AAM, a distinction held until 2002.

Its mission is to provide a rich cultural resource for the College and to pursue an active role in the overall cultural life of the region through collections; outreach and educational programs; research and study; and the presentation of exhibitions and works of art. It is accredited by the American Association of Museums, a distinction held by fewer than 5 percent of museums in the U.S.