Join us for a special Voice of the Artist talk in collaboration with the Lemon Project and University Libraries. Leading American historian Nell Irvin Painter is the author of many books, including Sojourner Truth, Creating Black Americans and The History of White People. In her 2018 book, Old in Art School, Painter recounts her journey from scholar to artist including her enrollment in the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design. There, she became a student again in her 60s and continues as a working, professional artist in her 80s. Painter will discuss the struggles in making a late-life pivot and […]

This semester, our Muscarelle Explorations lecture series will dive into the people, the art and the stories that have defined the Muscarelle over the past 40 years. In the 1930s, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller donated what is possibly the most famous work in the Museum’s collection, White Flower, by Georgia O’Keeffe. She hoped her gift would be seen “not only as an aesthetic gesture but also as an inspiration to the young women who are students at William & Mary.” Barbara Buhler Lynes, the preeminent scholar on O’Keeffe, will visit campus to discuss the life and work of the artist. Since 1946, the […]

This semester, our Muscarelle Explorations lecture series will dive into the people, the art and the stories that have defined the Muscarelle over the past 40 years — and into the future. One of the great privileges of being the Director of an art museum is the opportunity to guide the expansion of the permanent collection and chart its direction. The Muscarelle is currently focused on expanding the representation in our collection, with a special emphasis on adding works by women and artists of color. Join Director David Brashear as he surveys the progress the Muscarelle team is making toward […]

This semester, our Muscarelle Explorations lecture series will dive into the people, the art and the stories that have defined the Muscarelle over the past 40 years. One of the most iconic elements of the Muscarelle Museum of Art is the large installation of colorful illuminated tubes on its front facade. The work, entitled Sun Sonata, features color arrangements designed by artist Gene Davis, a central figure of the Washington Color School, a movement epitomized by color field painting and centered in Washington, D.C. Learn more about the artist and the movement in this lecture by Jack Rasmussen of the American University […]

This semester, our Muscarelle Explorations lecture series will dive into the people, the art and the stories that have defined the Muscarelle over the past 40 years. The earliest advocate for a campus museum was William & Mary Chancellor Professor Emeritus Miles Chappell, who surveyed what was called the “College Art Collection” in the early 1970s. Chappell’s project revealed that over nearly 300 years, the university had amassed a sizeable collection of art, and there was a clear need for a museum to preserve and protect the works. Join us for a casual conversation between Muscarelle Director David Brashear and […]