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October 2012 eNewsletter 
In This Issue
Thank You
In the News
Preschool Palette
Current Exhibition
Programs and Events
Chance Encounter
Thank you

   tripadvisor  

 

Thanks to our visitors who  voted Gari Melchers Home and Studio TripAdvisor's #1 attraction in Fredericksburg.

  

Read their reviews.

 

In the News

director tour  

 

Belmont offers a special behind-the-scenes tour    


September 17, 2012
The Free Lance-Star

  

It's small world after all, readers agree 

 

September, 2012 

The Free Lance-Star  

 

Preschool Palette
preschool paletteChildren ages 2-5 enjoy stories, hands-on art activities, and a visit to the museum.

October's theme is Ish Drawing

Thursday, October 11
Friday, October 12
Friday, October 19

Schedule through December. 

Classes run from 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.  

better ish

$8/child (Members $5), adults free, preregister by contacting Education and Communications Manager Michelle Crow-Dolby at 540/654-1851.

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Current Exhibition
Dutch Landscape
"Glimpses of Holland from the Portfolios of Gari Melchers"

Now through Nov. 18

  

  

 

 

 

 

Weekender

 

Read about this "small but vibrant" exhibition in the Free Lance-Star's Weekender section.  

"Its 50 works, drawn from Belmont's collection of Melchers' sketchbooks and preliminary studies, reveal much about the man and his favorite subjects as he made a name for himself in the Netherlands in the last quarter of the 19th century."   


Programs & Events

Sunday, October 28 @ 2 p.m.
"Henry Box Brown: Famous Fugitive, Trans-Atlantic Performer"

Jeffrey Ruggles, Art Historian  

lithograph Henry Brown traveled through Stafford County's Aquia Landing while he escaped from slavery by shipping himself in a box from Richmond to Philadelphia. This bold feat was only the first act of a remarkable career. "Resurrected" from the box as Henry Box Brown, he appeared at antislavery meetings as a singer and speaker. In 1850, Brown produced a moving panorama, a kind of giant painted scroll presented in a theater, called "Mirror of Slavery" and toured it around New England and then across the Atlantic. Trace this remarkable journey with Jeffrey Ruggles, former Curator of Prints and Photographs, Virginia Historical Society, and author of

The Unboxing of Henry Brown, Library of Virginia, 2003.

 

Free and open to the public

 

This program has been organized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and is supported, in part, by the Paul Mellon Endowment and the Jean Stafford Camp Memorial Fund.

  

Woodland Hike  

Sunday, October 28, 2 p.m.

 

Conducted by Virginia Master Naturalists, this informative, free hike covers a mile of trails in both woodlands and fields and touches on the historic ruins of Belmont's past. Please wear sturdy footwear and meet outside the Visitor Center.


Chance Encounter Reaps
True Rewards

By Betsy Labar, Special Events Manager 

 

Friends of Belmont members took a trip to Belgium and Holland in April. The trip was focused on the areas in Holland where Gari Melchers lived and painted. On our last night in Belgium, we enjoyed a group dinner at a restaurant near our hotel in Brugge. I was sitting next to an American gentleman who was dining alone and we struck up a conversation. I explained that our group was from Fredericksburg, Virginia.   He replied "I know a wonderful art museum there (a.k.a. Belmont!)." His interest increased when I told him our group was entirely comprised of either staff or supporters of the "wonderful art museum." Not only was he acquainted with our museum, but his family owns two of Melchers' original paintings!

Corn
Shocking Corn
still life
Still Life with Gloves

When I returned to work I told my story to curator Joanna Catron. As soon as I mentioned the painting's titles, she jumped. She had an old photograph of Shocking Corn but hadn't been able to locate the painting. The other, Still Life with Gloves, is an entirely new painting to her!   

 

Subsequently, photos and other valuable bits of information regarding the paintings and their provenance have been exchanged through a long string of exciting emails. This wonderful gentleman referred to our chance meeting in the small, but charming, Brugge restaurant as "pure serendipity!"

Gari and CorinneGari Melchers was an American artist who lived and painted at Belmont from 1916 until his death in 1932. Born in Detroit in 1860, Gari Melchers was a world famous portraitist and impressionist painter.  He was one of the most successful painters of his time, sought out by the rich and famous. She was a beautiful, young art student, and his biggest fan.  

 

They fell in love on an ocean liner and spent their lives sharing art. 
More than a hundred years later, the story of Gari and Corinne Melchers lives on in their home, Belmont. Be a part of this story. Come and explore this unique 18th century estate, tour stunning art galleries and hike the 27 acres of garden and trails. Share it with someone you love! 

 

A National Historic Landmark, Gari Melchers Home and Studio is one of just 30 of America's most significant artists' spaces included in the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Historic Artists' Homes and Studios consortium

 

Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont is open daily, except Wednesdays, from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

 

The Museum Shop, which is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., is also the official home of the Stafford County Visitor Center, where visitors can find information about Stafford County attractions, restaurants, hotels and other amenities.


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