| Welcome UMW Interns |
A University of Mary Washington senior and native of Rockville, Maryland, Luisa Dispenzirie is an art history major and a museum studies minor.
Ms. Dispenzirie will be entering descriptions and signature locations for Gari Melchers' unframed sketches. This information will be included in Curator Joanna Catron's catalog raisonne database.
Returning intern, Moira Barry, a UMW junior, is pursuing a double major in history and geography. A native of Framingham, Massachusetts, Ms. Barry will continue her work creating a GIS-based system to document Belmont's historic landscape.
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| Spring Field Trips | 
Our 2012 K-3 cross-curriculum spring field trip dates are scheduled.
April 23 - 27 and April 30 - May 4 Contact Education and Communication Manager Michelle Crow-Dolby at 540/654-1851 to book your school's date.
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Roots House Update
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Restoration of the Roots House is progressing. All rotted ceiling and floor joists in the kitchen have been replaced. The roofing boards are up and some of the siding. We hope to finish the floors and siding before winter sets in.
A work day is scheduled on Saturday, October 15 (rain date is Sunday, October 16) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to clean out debris and paint.
Please contact Beate Jensen at 540/654-1839 to sign up.
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| Now Showing | | "William H. Johnson: An American Modern"
Through December 3  | |
Untitled Still Life, Flowers, ca. 1936-1938. Oil on burlap.
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In a rich but abbreviated career, William H. Johnson (1901-1970) continually balanced his formal academic training with his emotional personal life to create distinctive, powerful paintings.
Who was this artist? Born in South Carolina, Johnson received his art training at the National Academy of Design in New York.
Johnson then lived and worked in France and Scandinavia and traveled across Europe and Northern Africa. While painting abroad, Johnson fell in love and later married Danish textile artist Holcha Krake.
 | | William H. Johnson |
When he moved back to New York in 1938, Johnson made a decisive shift in his art and began revisiting his African American experience. In the final years of his career, Johnson found a singular style of painting that reflected his own roots and folk culture.
The exhibition catalog is available in the Museum Shop for $26.95.
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| Programs & Events | | |
Great Art; Great Stories: Which Came First, the Stories or the Art?
Sunday, October 16, 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
 | | Storyteller Bill Grimmette |
African griot storyteller Bill Grimmette will present a twenty-minute performance in the Studio Pavilion. This all-ages performance will be repeated twice: once at 1:30 p.m. and again at 3:30 p.m.
This program is free and includes complimentary admission to the "William H. Johnson" exhibition.
The Smithsonian Community Grant Program, funded by MetLife Foundation, is a proud sponsor of this public program.
 | | Lion's Mane mushroom |
Fall Mushroom Talk and Walk
Sunday, October 23, 2 p.m.
Local fungus enthusiast Ryan Mooney will give an illustrated talk on the mushroom life cycle and identification points, followed by a walk through Belmont's fields and woods to see what is growing. Workshop size is limited to 20 people. Contact Beate Jensen at 540/654-1839 to make a reservation. The walk covers 1 ½ miles over rough terrain. Wear sturdy shoes and appropriate attire. Free; rain or shine.
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| Rose Arbors Restored | |  Belmont's rose arbors received some much-needed attention this past month, thanks to the generous and continuing support of the Garden Club of Virginia. Marking the north and south ends of the Long Walk, the arbors have a long and storied presence in the gardens.
Read the complete story. |
Museum Shop
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New in the Museum Shop for under $10 is this darling puzzle of Market Scene by the workshop of Frans Snyders.
Gari Melchers purchased Market Scene for $200 in 1906.
This large-scale painting currently hangs in the dining room.
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| Preschool Palette | |
 Autumn Fun is October's Theme
Cooler weather is coming, and we will make a beautiful leaf collage to celebrate.
Friday, October 7
Monday, October 10
Thursday, October 27
For more information, including the schedule for the rest of the year, visit our website.
 Classes run from 10 a.m to 11 a.m.
Contact Education and Communications Manager Michelle Crow-Dolby at 540/654-1851 or mdolby@umw.edu to pre-register.
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 At Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont, see the richly furnished country house and working studio of American Impressionist painter Gari Melchers (1860-1932) as they appeared in the 1920s. Explore the colorful formal gardens and wooded hiking trails of the artist's 27-acre retreat. Enjoy special exhibitions of the art of Melchers and his contemporaries.
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