February 8, 2014 — February 8, 2015 This exhibition is comprised of a selection of European landscapes, portraits and religious images, from the Baroque and Renaissance periods. The paintings come from the permanent collection and loans from Thomas D. Dossett and Associates and The Lauro Collection.  Works by Titian, Diego Velázquez, and Luca Giordano are among the important artists on view.  

April 29, 2014 — February 8, 2015 Kabuki (its name comprised of the Kanji characters for “sing”, “dance”, and “skill”) is a form of Japanese theatre known for its elaborate costumes, striking makeup, and intricate choreography. The ancient celebration of the beautiful and the bizarre is immortalized in this exhibition of Kabuki theatre woodcuts from the permanent collection.

April 29, 2014 — February 8, 2015 This collection of etchings, by the 17th-century French printmaker Jacques Callot, represents a significant acquisition for the Museum.  A variety of series that Callot completed over his career are on view, including a pristine impression of one of his best-known works, the etching of Saint Amond. Shown in the Herman Print Study Room, the viewer will have a chance to explore the provenance, or history of ownership, of the works on view.

Guest curated by Kathryn H. Floyd, visiting instructor at the College of William & Mary, 21st Century Diplomacy featured more than four dozen images of culture, politics and war captured by photographers affiliated with the global affairs magazine Diplomatic Courier as well as William & Mary students.  Through this multi-national collaborative effort, photographers shared their experiences in witnessing narratives that help to shape political, financial, and humanitarian decisions worldwide. Click here for the Press Release.  

This is the fourth installment of our Curators at Work exhibition series.  The exhibition which runs from April 19, 2014 — May 18, 2014, will focus on new acquisitions to the permanent collection.  As in past years, this show will be curated by the Muscarelle’s own Assistant Director & Chief Curator Dr. John T. Spike and his students of his Curating, Collecting and Connoisseurship course at the College.

February 8 to April 6, 2014, visitors coming to the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary will have a rare opportunity to view three famous paintings by, or attributed to, Caravaggio and take sides in an intense debate among the world’s leading authorities on Italian paintings. Two nearly identical versions of Caravaggio’s Saint Francis in Meditation have left experts divided. Despite years of debate, experts are in disagreement as to which one of these two beautiful paintings was created first and by whom. Which one is the original? Could they both be by the great […]

The Muscarelle Museum of Art will host Glenn Close: A Life in Costume, featuring selections from Close’s personal costume collection.  It consists of ensembles worn by some of the most iconic characters from Close’s career in film, theatre and television, including Norma Desmond (Sunset Boulevard), Albert Nobbs, Alex Forrest (Fatal Attraction), Cruella De Vil (101 and 102 Dalmatians) and Patty Hewes (Damages).  The exhibition will open on September 29, 2013 and run through January 12, 2014.  In conjunction with the exhibition and the 2013 William & Mary Arts & Entertainment Festival, Close and her biotech entrepreneur husband, David Shaw, will […]

More than twenty contemporary artists will be represented in the upcoming exhibition In Tandem: Established and Emerging Contemporary Artists from the Permanent Collection, September 29, 2013 — January 12, 2014. This multi- generational show includes works from the 1950s until the present by leading and emergent artists working in a variety of media and styles. Iconic works by established artists such as Chuck Close, David Hockney and Betye Saar will be showcased in tandem with up-and-coming artists Ángel Rámiro Sanchez, Steve Prince and Johnston Foster. Diverse approaches to contemporary culture, created by a cadre of multi-cultural artists, demonstrate the plurality […]

Curators at Work III: New Acquisitions, on view April 26 to May 26, 2013, will display a number of masterpieces that have been newly acquired for the permanent collection. The show will span seven consecutive centuries of art and a variety of media. These works are not featured merely for their significance to the art community at-large, rather these works were carefully selected to highlight the most significant philosophy underlying the operation and acquisitions of the Museum — the Museum’s role as a learning laboratory for the entire College of William & Mary. The director and chief curator target works […]