August 2015 E-Newsletter

In This Issue

Preschool Palette

Blue Star Museum

Woodland Hike

Thank You

Awards

Belmont Portrayed

Fresh from our Blog

Bus Trip to NC

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. August Classes: August 18, 20, 21, 27 $10/child (Members $8) Register Online Questions? Contact Education and Communications Manager Michelle Crow-Dolby at 540/654-1851.

Blue Star
Active-duty military personnel and their families receive free museum admission from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Woodland Hike
Sunday, August 26, 2pm
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.

Thank You

Awards
Our Pinterest page, boasting 18 boards and more than 600 pins, recently won Best UMW Pinterest Account by #UMWSocial. Additionally, our Twitter account, along with the James Monroe Museum's Twitter account, received an Honorable Mention. Thanks University of Mary Washington!

BELMONT PORTRAYED

Sketch of Belmont by Gari Melchers, ca. 1920

Announcing Belmont Portrayed

To mark the 40th anniversary of the 1975 public opening of Belmont, Gari Melchers Home and Studio is organizing Belmont Portrayed, a juried exhibition of artistic interpretations of Belmont's buildings and property. The exhibition will be on view to the public from January 23-April 17, 2016, with cash awards totaling $2500 made possible by the Nicky Seay Charitable Fund.

"We are announcing the show well in advance of the entry dates to allow artists to visit and create new works this summer and fall if they wish," said Belmont Director David Berreth, who will make the final selections for the exhibition.

Full details are available in the official Call for Entries. On-line entry forms will be available on the museum website beginning October 26, with a deadline of November 20.

FRESH FROM OUR BLOG
Gari Melchers: Left or Right Handed? Very often visitors to Belmont will see the many Gari Melchers self-portraits and paintings of him by other artists, as well as historical photographs, and ask us whether he painted with his left or right hand. For many artists of earlier generations, before the advent of photography or whose self-portraits were limited to head and [...] Art, Great & Small In the August 2015 issue of Virginia Living Magazine, our site was touted as one of Virginia's leading niche museums whose "dedication to their mission makes them well worth the visit." We share this honor with the William King Museum of Art in Abington, The Marine Raider Museum in Quantico, the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection [...] Fall 2015 Schedule of Events Spotlight Exhibition: Julius Melchers' Captain Jack September 12, 2015-January 3, 2016. For the first time at Belmont, one of the celebrated cigar store Indian figures carved by Gari Melchers' father and mentor will be on view in the Studio, included with museum admission. Director's Tour for Members Sunday, September 20, 2 p.m. Behind the scenes [...] Johnna & Scott Tie the Knot Saturday, June 13th was unusually hot for an early summer wedding but that didn't keep the Lees from having a gorgeous outside ceremony. Their ceremony began at 5:30 p.m. and was short and sweet! When the newlyweds were announced, they joyfully walked down the aisle to I Feel Good by James Brown, which definitely gave [...]

BELMONT BUS TRIP

"Woman Reading by a Window" by Gari Melches

Join Friends of Belmont as we travel to Winston-Salem, NC, October 20-21. On the agenda are stops to the Reynolda House Museum of American Art to see The Artist's Garden: American Impressionism and the Garden Movement, which features several Melchers' paintings; Museum of Early Southern Decorative Art; and Old Salem Museums & Gardens. Our overnight stay will be spent at the Brookstown Inn.

Review the FLYER and make plans to join us!

Michelle Crow-Dolby, Editor

Education and Communications Manager

Peruse 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.