April 15, 2011 – June 19, 2011

The Muscarelle Museum of Art first opened its doors in 1983, but The College of William & Mary began acquiring art centuries earlier, in 1732, when the Third Earl of Burlington donated to The College a portrait of English physicist Sir Robert Boyle. As the fine arts were beginning to take root in the New World, The College procured works by celebrated colonial and early American portraitists, such as Rembrandt Peale, Charles Bridges and John Wollaston. During the early decades of the 20th century, other genres of painting as well as sculptures and works on paper were introduced into the […]

Merging Souls: Arts of Devotion in Latin America illuminates the rich visual and material cultures of the southern regions of the Americas from the pre-Hispanic and colonial periods to the present day. Drawing together works from diverse peoples, regions, and modern nations, the exhibition testifies to the centrality of art in Latin American communities and the varied means by which the sacred is perceived and expressed. Merging Souls explores two forms of artistic synthesis: the merging of beliefs and practices and the merging of distinct cultural traditions. The first highlights the interplay of theology and practice – sacred ideals inspire […]

The profound art of American photojournalist W. Eugene Smith and his wife Aileen M. Smith is the subject of an upcoming exhibition at the Muscarelle Museum of Art. Unbearable Beauty: The Triumph of the Human Spirit consists of photographs from Smith’s “Minamata Series,” which brought to world attention the horrors of mercury poisoning. The exhibition opens April 24, 2010 and closes on June 20, 2010. William & Mary professor Elizabeth Mead curated the exhibition as part of a College-wide, global-inquiry group on the effects of mercury poisoning culminating in an international symposium at The College. The exhibition will include many […]

The 3rd Annual Developing World Gallery exhibition co-curated by IRC CARES and the Muscarelle Museum of Art is currently on display in the Museum’s Annex at the Sadler Center. Featured in the exhibition are photographs taken by students while traveling or studying in developing countries. Out of over 800 photo submissions, sixty pictures were chosen for the exhibition. A silent auction was held during opening on April 1. All money raised went to support Practical Small Projects. The exhibition runs thru May 7.

One of the most famous artists in the history of the world, Michelangelo Buonarroti is known for his iconic works such as the Sistine Chapel and the sculpture David. Without a doubt, however, the rare and infrequently seen drawings of this Renaissance artist are among the most treasured in the world. Michelangelo: Anatomy as Architecture consists of drawings, archival pages, and engravings on loan from the finest collection of Michelangelo drawings and the ancestral home, the Casa Buonarroti in Florence, Italy. Combined with Old Master drawings from the collection of the Museum, the exhibition depicts and illustrates Michelangelo’s concept and […]

Warhol, fascinated by contradictions, famously said, “I am a deeply superficial person.” The Muscarelle Museum of Art presents Deeply Superficial, on view from November 7, 2009 to January 17, 2010, an exhibition featuring over 100 of Warhol’s photographs, film and silkscreens of glamorous celebrities, socialites, and artists of the 60s and 70s, including Edie Sedgwick, Dennis Hopper, Bob Dylan, and Salvador Dali. This cutting-edge, multi-media exhibition offers a fresh interpretation of the conceptual underpinnings and the ambiguous “voyeurism” of his portraits in film, photography, and silkscreen and offers a rare look through Warhol’s eyes at his world, and his artistic […]

In the mid-17th century, Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664) and his circle increasingly produced paintings for a colonial market. The series of Twelve Sibyls, on view from August 4, 2009 through November 1, 2009, is a fascinating example of the paintings that were shipped overseas to decorate churches and public spaces in Lima, Quito, and other cities. Typically, such series had a direct print source. These Sibyls are based on a set of prints by the French painter Claude Vignon, engraved by Gilles Rousselet and Abraham Bosse in 1630. The differing levels of quality and the vibrant color scheme—unusual for Zurbarán—indicates […]