October 2013

In This Issue

Preschool Palette

Programs

Curator's Corner

Restoration Update

Museum Shop

PRESCHOOL PALETTE
Children ages 2-5 enjoy a story, garden walk, hands-on art project, and a visit to the art gallery or historic house. October's theme is Bridget's Beret Oct 15, 17, 18 Schedule through December Classes run from 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. $8/child (Members $5), adults free, pre-register by contacting Education and Communications Manager Michelle Crow-Dolby or 540/654-1851.

Stay Connected

Gari and Corinne Gari 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.

PROGRAMS
Book Collectors and the Art of Book Collecting October 13, 2-4 p.m. Allan J. Stypeck, owner of Second Story Books, the landmark Washington D.C., rare bookstore, and co-host of the former NPR program "The Book Guys," will present a talk on book collecting and collectors. A senior member of the American Society of Appraisers and noted antiquarian bookseller and appraiser, Mr. Stypeck will offer appraisals on books, manuscripts, maps, ephemera, photographs and recorded materials for attendees (limit five items per attendee). The program is included with museum admission. Reservations required at 540/654-1843. Artist Gari Melchers and his wife Corinne were booklovers. Despite his studio schedule demands, Gari Melchers devoted his morning hours to his newspapers, made time for a good novel or history and enjoyed studying thepages of his many art books. Corinne Melchers, too, loved the classics, contemporary novels, biographies and books related to her interests in painting, horticulture, and American cultural history. Corinne's brothers encouraged the couple's interest in books. Brother Leonard Mackall, a bibliophile with a column in the New York Herald Tribune, acquired many first editions and rare books for the couple, many of which relate to the Netherlands where the couple resided for many years. Brother Lawton Mackall was a writer as well, and is best remembered as a renowned restaurant critic, though he was also a humorist, magazine editor and even worked on a Hollywood screenplay.
Woodland Hike Sunday, October 27, 2 p.m. Led 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.

CURATOR'S CORNER

Gari Melchers' Evergreen Connection

"Portrait of Mrs. John W. Garrett in Spanish Costume" by Gari Melchers, 1925

I don't take The Washington Post. So I ought to know - that paper's marketing slogan, "If you don't get it, you don't get it" - it's true. Had it not been for a staff member who brought in a copy, I would have missed another interesting art feature, this one having a connection with Gari Melchers, "A Baltimore Treasure: When Art Danced with the Mansion," by Rebecca Ritzel (Aug. 25).

With all the buzz circulating over the "Diaghilev and The Ballets Russes" exhibition at the National Gallery of Art, The Post editors have their writers out digging up related story angles about the fruitful collaboration between modern art and the Russian ballet company. It turns out the company's famous Russian �migr�, set and costume designer Leon Bakst, had ties to the Baltimore arts scene, and by extension, to Gari Melchers. More...

RESTORATION UPDATE

Dining Room Restoration Complete

After two years of planning, fundraising and the work of three fine art conservators, Gari Melchers Home and Studio has completed the restoration of the dining room d�cor enjoyed by Gari and Corinne Melchers during their years at Belmont. More...

MUSEUM SHOP

Available now at the Museum Shop:
special selection of titles on the eccentricities of book collectors and collecting.