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April 2015 E-Newsletter
In This Issue
Updates
Latest Blog Post
Award
In the News
Welcome
Events Calendar
Spotlight Exhibition
Preschool Palette
Updates


Beginning April 1, the Museum will remain open until 5 pm. The site will be closed April 5 for Easter.

Latest Blog Post


Springtime at Belmont
"Springtime has always been a magical time at Belmont..."
[More...]
 
Award


In the News


Welcome

Meghan Pcsolyar joins us as Betsy Labar's new Special Events Assistant. She graduated from Sweet Briar College in 2012 with degrees in Sociology and Business Management. She has always loved planning events and has held multiple internships doing so with various nonprofits. She looks forward to joining the Belmont community and is excited to help Betsy coordinate the special events we hold here.


EVENTS CALENDAR

Free Open House
Sun, April 12, 10-5 pm, free 

Enjoy the restored gardens in bloom, the art of Gari Melchers and the history of Belmont. The Spring Open House is a great opportunity to share Belmont with family and friends.  


The Colonial Revival Movement
Sunday, April 26, 2  pm, free  

Belmont Cultural Resource Manager Beate Jensen traces the Colonial Revival from its emergence in the 1870s. The movement profoundly influenced American architecture and decorative arts as well as landscape and garden design. The illustrated presentation focuses on the influence the Colonial Revival had on Gari and Corinne Melchers and how it is expressed in Belmont's house and gardens.

 

Woodland Hike    

Sunday, April 26, 2 pm, free 

Conducted by Virginia Master Naturalists, these informative hikes cover a mile of trails in both woodlands and fields and touch on Belmont's historic ruins. Meet outside the Visitor Center, free.

   

The Painted Garden: A Favorite Motif in American Impressionism 

Sunday, May 3, 2 pm. Free

An illustrated presentation by Belmont Curator Joanna Catron shows how early 20th century American impressionist painters demonstrated a preference for gardens as subjects, as well as an appreciation for the art of gardening itself. The talk will survey the many talented artists, including Gari Melchers, who left us an enduring legacy of American Garden craft.


SPOTLIGHT EXHIBITION

Crimson Rambler A Must See for Spring 
 

The Crimson Rambler, a painting unique to Gari Melchers' body of work, will make a special appearance through June 7, thanks to a generous loan from private collectors.

 

Read the press release

  


PRESCHOOL PALETTE   
Children ages 2-5 with an adult enjoy a story, garden walk, hands-on art project, and a visit to the art gallery or historic house. Classes run from 10-11 am.
 
April Classes:  April 21, 23, 24
 
$10/child (Members $8) 
 
Register Online 

Questions?  Contact Education and Communications Manager Michelle Crow-Dolby at 540/654-1851.


Education and Communications Manager

Peruse our past e-newsletter issues.

          

Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont was the home and studio of prominent portraitist and American Impressionist painter Gari Melchers (1860-1932) from 1916 until his death. The 18th century Georgian mansion, outbuildings, and formal gardens were modified and expanded to serve as an elegant country retreat for the artist and his wife, who had left their longtime European home at the outbreak of WWI.  Melchers was one of the most respected artists of his generation. Upon Corinne Melchers' death in 1955, the property and all its contents were deeded to the Commonwealth of Virginia, making Belmont one of the most complete and authentic artists' homes in America.  

 

Administered by the University of Mary Washington, the museum is accredited by the  American Alliance of Museums, is a National Historic Landmark, and is included in the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Historic Artists' Homes and Studios consortium.