Exhibitions

Bringing together art and stories from eight international photographers, VITAL offers an intimate look at the places in nature we cannot afford to lose if we hope to stabilize our climate. These ecosystems contain vast stores of “irrecoverable carbon” accumulated over decades or centuries. If destroyed, the carbon released into the atmosphere will fuel climate change. This exhibition goes beyond the data to share the stories of these essential places, inviting visitors to experience the awe-inspiring power of nature and the people who protect it. From the tropical forests and peatlands of the Amazon to the temperate rainforests of North America, these photographs remind us what’s at stake — and why we must act.

Docent-led tours of VITAL are available daily at 2:00 PM, Tuesday through Sunday. Tours last 20-30 minutes. No registration required; meet at the Visitor Services Desk.

A project curated by Ami Vitale, Lui-Walton Innovators Fellow at Conservation International, in collaboration with Scientist Allie Goldstein. Exhibition curation by Laura Covelli.

Presented in collaboration with Conservation International and Vital Impacts with support from the Lucille Godfrey Quattlebaum Muscarelle Museum Endowment, the Year of the Environment Committee and the Institute for Integrative Conservation.

Photo: © Reuben Wu / courtesy of Conservation International

Expanded Horizons: Native American Creativity at the Intersection of Culture and Art, curated by Muscarelle Curator of Native American Art Danielle Moretti-Langholtz, invites us to look beyond two dimensional “traditional” artwork by Indigenous artists and consider the impact of major movements in the wider art world leading to new directions in media, aesthetics and creativity by Native American artists.

Listen to audio commentary from Curator Danielle Moretti-Langholtz on selected works in our Audio Tour, and explore music by Indigenous artists inspired by the exhibition in our companion Listening Party.

This exhibition will feature fifteen original silkscreens by one of America’s leading figurative twentieth-century artists, Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000). This series of prints on The Life of Toussaint L’Ouverture provides a visual narrative of one the most consequential events in modern history.

Where Late the Sweet Birds represents selected works from Morgan Bulkeley’s expansive creative output across five decades.  Bulkeley’s eclectic realm of symbolism is concerned with the ecological crisis of our time, which has remained at the center of his practice since the early 1970s.  Where Late the Sweet Birds arrives at William & Mary during the Year of the Environment, a year-long celebration of our shared commitment to protecting our planet and the communities that depend on its health and resilience. This exhibition is curated by Patrick Harkin, Director of the Andrews Gallery, and is presented jointly by the Department of Art & Art History and the Muscarelle Museum of Art at William & Mary.

A selection of these works is on view at the Muscarelle in Gallery 12, with the rest of the exhibition displayed in Andrews Gallery, next door to the museum. Andrews Gallery is open 10 AM – 5 PM, Monday through Saturday.

The opening of the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the Martha Wren Briggs Center for the Visual Arts coincided with the 332nd anniversary of the issuing of the Royal Charter to establish a “perpetual college of learning in Virginia,” making us the second oldest university in the United States. The history of this institution is deep and dynamic, and parallels the founding of our nation with both struggles and successes. William & Mary educated four U.S. presidents, judges, statesmen and women, signers of the Declaration of Independence, teachers, legislators, lawyers, doctors, astronauts, scientists, veterans and exemplary citizens of this nation and the world. For this we are aptly known as “the Alma Mater of the Nation.” In this exhibition we return to our unique origin story with a look at our Royal Charter and the individuals who were essential in the founding of the “College of William and Mary” with selections from the permanent collection and loans from the Special Collections Research Center at Swem Library.

A selection of works from the Museum’s permanent collection that present a range of eras and styles vital to the story of American Art are currently on view.  Benjamin West, John Singleton Copley, Rembrandt Peale, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Childe Hassam, Georgia O’Keeffe, and John Sloan are among the important artists on exhibition.

A selection of paintings from the Museum’s permanent collection provides viewers with a chance to explore the assorted hues and dramatic light of the natural world rendered and revered by European artists from the late 18th century to the early 20th century.  Among the artists represented include Abraham Hulk, Adolphe Charles Marais, Henri-Joseph Harpignies, Eugène Boudin, Louis Valtat, and Gustave Loiseau.

Losing Todd: A Mother’s Journey is an exhibition of twenty-one paintings capturing the journey of Jeanne Harris Weaver HON ’17 coping with the loss of her son, 1LT Todd Weaver ‘08. Todd was killed in action on September 9, 2010, while deployed in Afghanistan. Jeanne, a lifelong artist, found herself unable to paint until January 2011, when she decided to pick up her brushes in honor of Todd. View this memorial exhibition at the Muscarelle Museum of Art Annex at the William & Mary Sadler Center. Opening during W&M Homecoming 2025, the exhibition will remain on view through Veterans’ Day 2025 into 2026, the year of the nation’s 250th anniversary of the Second Continental Congress and the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

Recent works of William & Mary’s studio art faculty, including visiting instructors and emeriti professors, will be featured in the exhibition Faculty Show 16 on view from October 17, 2025 through January 11, 2026. This exhibition will highlight the diverse talents of the William & Mary studio instructors in a variety of media including ceramics, drawing, painting, printmaking, photography and sculpture.

Co-sponsored by the Muscarelle Museum of Art and the Department of Art & Art History at William & Mary, Liquid Commonwealth seeks to explore the essential importance, richness, and beauty of water as a defining element of Virginia for all its residents. Works utilizing the theme of water in Virginia will be selected by a jury consisting of students enrolled in The Curatorial Project, a required practicum course for undergraduate students with a concentration in Art History, under the direction of Alan C. Braddock, Ralph H. Wark Professor of Art History, American Studies, and Environmental Humanities at William & Mary.

Submissions are now closed. Notifications have been sent to the selected artists. Please send any questions to museum@wm.edu with the subject line “Liquid Commonwealth.”