The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, VA opened in 1936. It is one of the largest art museums in the U.S., and it’s free!
The museum has a large Faberge and Russian collection, with more than 150 items, the largest collection of Faberge eggs outside of Russia and including five Imperial Easter eggs.
There’s not much else to say about the museum, as the artwork and objects speak for themselves. We both felt the museum had a lot of nice items, but nothing that knocked our socks off. Having just finished a book on Impressionism, I was looking forward to the collection.
A new museum category for me, “British Sporting Art”, which was mostly horses and hounds. This one is by Sir Alfred Munning (1878-1959).
A Man, Groom, and Two Hunters, Benjamin Marshall, c 1725.
In the cover photo you can see a large selection of Tiffany Lamps held by the museum, but this one was my favorite. The Wisteria Lamp (c. 1902) was made of 2,000 individual pieces by Clara Driscoll, head of Tiffany’s Glass Decorating Department. It was priced at $400, which seems a lot now, never mind 120 years ago! Look at that wonderful reflection, though!
Frank Lloyd Wright windows and chairs, all from the early 1900s. The two windows on the left were for the Avery Coonley Playhouse in Illinois, while the one on the right was for the famous Darwin Martin residence in Buffalo, which we toured several years ago.
The Watering Pond at Marly with Hoarfrost, 1876, Alfred Sisley.
The Thames at Hampton Court, 1874, by Alfred Sisley.
Claude Monet’s Irises by the Pond, 1917, was quite large.
You can really see the globs of paint in Claude Monet’s Irises by the Pond.
Pierre Auguste Renoir’s Contemplative (The Day Dreamer), 1875.
The Beach at Trouville, 1894, by Eugene Boudin.
Handkerchief Point, 1897, Maurice Brazil Prendergast.
A cane handle, c 1900, by the Faberge Firm. Agate, gold, enamel, rubies.
Imperial Rock Crystal Easter Egg with Revolving Miniatures, presented by Tsar Nicholas II to his wife in 1896. Check out a close-up of the base in the next photo.
Close up of the base of Imperial Rock Crystal Easter Egg with Revolving Miniatures.
Imperial Tsarevich Easter Egg, 1912, Faberge Firm. Check out the trinket found inside, in the next photo. Gold, silver, platinum, lapis lazuli, diamonds, rock crystal, watercolor on ivory.
Trinket inside the Imperial Tsarevich Easter Egg.
A cane handle, before 1899, by the Faberge Firm. Gold, silver, enamel, diamonds.
Lilies of the Valley by the Faberge Firm. Nephrite, gold, silver, pearls, diamonds, bloodstone. See detail in the next photo.
Detail of Lilies of the Valley.
Mrs. Richard H. Derby, 1888, by John Singer Sargent.
Detail of dress, Mrs. Richard H. Derby.
I like the mood of this one, Rainy Day, 1892, Frederick Childe Hassam.
I’m not familiar with this artist, Sir Thomas Lawrence, by I thought this Portrait of Miss Julia Peel (1828) was really lovely.
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