T H E C A M PA I G N F O R CO L O N I A L W I L L I A M S B U RG

History and Citizenship�

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T H E A RT M U S E U M S o fCO L O N I A L W I L L I A M S B U RG

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T H E C A M PA I G N F O R CO L O N I A L W I L L I A M S B U RG

History and Citizenship� �

Expansion of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg

New Access and More Gallery Space in the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum and the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum

Features Will Include:

• 8,000 square feet of new gallery space to highlight Colonial Williamsburg’s collections of British and American furniture, paintings, silver, ceramics, textiles, maps, and other media and early American folk art

• Central, easily identifi ed, street-level entrance off ering improved accessibility and more guest services

• Lobby and grand concourse accessing both museums through clearly marked portals

• New and upgraded mechanical and climate control systems

• Enhanced programming and activities engaging visitors

• Expanded museum café and store near the entry open to visitors

• Space and equipment for effi cient museum operations and exhibition presentations

• The Art Museums’ expansion will achieve John D. Rockefeller, Jr.’s goal of assembling and exhibiting “antiques at Williamsburg. . .second to no collection of its kind in the country”

Soup tureen and stand, Jingdezhen, China, 1800-10, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Boys in memory of Barbara G. Boys and Anne Marie Falvey

“That The Future May Learn From The Past”

Expansion of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg

See the new entrance façade and spaces in a one-minute animation online at www.history.org/history/museums. These images from the animation are keyed to the plan above.

NEW ENTRANCE

Abby Aldrich Rockefellerfolk ◆ art ◆ museum

DeWitt Wallacedecorative arts museum

The Public Hospital of 1773& current entrance

Museum Expansion

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Abby Aldrich Rockefellerfolk ◆ art ◆ museum

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The Art Museums of Colonial WilliamsburgDeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation operates two world-class art museums under a single roof—the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum and the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum. Together known as the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg, they offer a compelling array of permanent and changing exhibitions and a lively schedule of daily programs for visitors of all ages.

The museums attract some 250,000 guests annually, frequently placing among the fifty most heavily visited art museums in America.

The award-winning DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum presents the Foundation’s renowned collection of British and American fine and decorative arts dating from 1600 through 1830. The museum features 15 galleries with 26,500 square feet of exhibition space, as well as a 260-seat auditorium, a museum store, and a popular café. Regularly changing exhibitions at the Wallace Museum are drawn from the Foundation’s definitive collections of early furniture, metal wares, ceramics, glass, paintings, prints, maps, tools, weapons, numismatics, costumes, textiles, and a host of other media. Highlights include the world’s largest assemblage of Southern furniture, nationally important bodies of English silver and pewter, a vast array of 18th-century clothing, and one of the largest groupings Chest on chest, Charleston, South Carolina, 1765-80,

Museum Purchase

Garniture, Hard-paste porcelain, Jingdezhen, China, ca. 1800, Gift of Beatrix T. Rumford, 2009-154

of British ceramics outside the United Kingdom. Creative installations present these genuine survivors of our storied past in a way that brings them to life and ties back to the lessons of the Foundation’s Revolutionary City.

Construction of the Wallace Museum in 1985 fulfilled a long held desire to create a setting in which objects of the past might speak to today’s guests through innovative exhibitions. Gifts totaling $17 million from DeWitt and Lila Acheson Wallace, founders of Reader’s Digest, made the museum a reality. Designed by Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo & Associates, the structure is adjacent to Colonial Williamsburg’s Revolutionary City with access through the reconstructed Public Hospital of 1773.

The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum is the oldest institution in the United States dedicated solely to the exhibition and preservation of American folk art. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., established the museum in 1957 to honor his wife Abby and her leading role in the appreciation and study of American folk art. Mrs. Rockefeller gave the core collection of 250 objects to the Foundation in 1939. Today’s collection of more than 5,000 objects includes works dating from the 1720s to the present, all shown in 11 galleries encompassing 11,000 square feet of exhibition space.

The museum moved from its original location two blocks east to new and larger gallery spaces adjacent to the Wallace Museum in 2007. Regularly changing exhibitions feature paintings, drawings, furniture, ceramics, whirligigs, weathervanes, carvings, toys, quilts, needlework, textiles, musical instruments, and other materials representing the diverse cultural traditions and geographical regions of the United States.

The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg are open daily and offer special gallery tours and programs designed for families and children. “Teen Takes,” an audio tour produced by teens for teens, engages a youthful audience. Hands-on activities correlated with exhibitions appeal to families. For example, “Celebrate Quilts” examines designs of the many quilts displayed in a current exhibition and inspires a

Needlework picture of George Washington and His Family, Embroidery and painting on silk, America, 1810-1835, Gift of the John D. Rockefeller, 3rd, Fund, Inc., through the generosity and interest of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, 3rd, and members of the family

Baby in Red Chair, Pennsylvania, 1810-30, From the collection of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller; gift of David Rockefeller

hands-on activity. The Susan Goode Education Studio makes possible a wide range of creative activities. Throughout the year, the Hennage Auditorium hosts speakers and performers that enrich experiences in the museum and in the Revolutionary City. The Foundation brings scholars from many fields for presentations exploring all aspects of material culture, music, architecture, and a wide range of subjects from the 17th century to the present.

Special exhibitions and scholarly publications produced by Colonial Williamsburg’s

curators are central to the museum experience. In 2013, the museums mounted a comprehensive exhibition, Painters and Paintings in the Early American South, and published with Yale University Press an important volume on the subject by curator Carolyn Weekley. The show combines paintings from the Foundation’s collections with major works from institutions and collections across the United States. The Grainger Foundation of Lake Forest, Illinois, generously funded both the exhibition and the publication. In 2014, A Rich and Varied Culture: The Material World of the Early South opened a long-term, multi-phased presentation of remarkable objects produced in or imported to the Chesapeake, the Carolina Low Country and the Southern Backcountry before 1840. Created in conjunction with multiple sister institutions and private collections, the exhibition highlights the aesthetic diversity brought to the region by the varied cultures and ethnic groups that ultimately defined the early American South. Carolyn and Michael McNamara of Williamsburg, Virginia, underwrote the exhibition.

Pair of pistols,Walnut stock with silver wire inlay; steel barrel, lock, trigger guard; silver butt plate, escutcheon, London or Birmingham, England, 1750-1770, Thomas Danforth, Museum Purchase, 1960-170

The Old Plantation, Watercolor on laid paper, John Rose, Beaufort County, South Carolina, probably 1785-1790, Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller

Colonial Williamsburg plans an expansion of the museums to create a handsome street-level entrance that will dramatically improve guest access by eliminating the current circuitous route through the Public Hospital of 1773. The expansion will increase the number of objects on display and provide enhanced guest services. Most importantly, it will offer better opportunities for visitors to increase understanding of early American art and history. The proposed expansion is budgeted at $40 million, and the Foundation is launching an ambitious effort to acquire funds needed for construction and endowment.

The DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum are located at the corner of Francis and South Henry Streets [325 West Francis Street]. Hours of operation and current programs are listed on Colonial Williamsburg’s website www.history.org.

Woman’s gown, Spitalfields, England, 1775-80, Gift of Tasha TudorTeapot, White salt-glazed stoneware with fossil patternStaffordshire, England, Museum Purchase

Pair of bread baskets, Silver gilt, Paul de Lamerie, London, England, 1747-1748, Museum Purchase

What Visitors Are Saying About Our Museums Quotes from Trip Advisor

“We visited here about six years ago, but we were anxious to visit again. Many excellent exhibits on view, including one about early American money—sounds dull, but it was fascinating! We spent quite a bit of time in the American Furniture from Virginia to Vermont; Painters and Paintings in the Early American South; and Changing Keys: Keyboard Instruments for America 1700-1830. The latter has many listening wands so you can hear period music played on the various instruments (pianos, spinets, harpsichords, etc.). We also spent quite a bit of time in the permanent display of decorative arts, including all the implements used for tea, coffee and chocolate drinking. We were in the area for four days, visiting Jamestown, and many of the early historic homes, and so a visit to the DeWitt Wallace brought it all together.”July 2014—Visitor from Huntington, West Virginia

“During one of our afternoon strolls through the Historic Williamsburg section, we ventured into the more retail/restaurant section, where on the outskirts, we discovered the old historic colonial building which we also thought would just be a very small historic building. BUT... to our surprise and total GREAT ASTONISHMENT... we were directed downstairs into an amazing and dramatic corridor—with a modern architectural sense in comparison to the colonial building above. Little did we know or realize previously that underground and at the dramatic finale of this lower level corridor was a truly WONDERFUL, expansive, and comprehensive GEM of a museum. The hidden corridor opens up into a multi-leveled, multi-galleried and absolutely beautiful and artful arrangements of VERY well planned, well thought-out and VERY creatively presented exhibits.

The gallery themes, detailings, presentation elements were very comprehensive with amazing examples. The fashion exhibit area was wonderful, with some of the most unique and beautiful pieces on show—a small area but very well presented and showcasing an amazing large amount of items. This area was supremely better than in many well-known

nationals and international museums who promote their fashion component as a major highlight. The furniture exhibit areas were also extremely well done, extremely well organized and presented, and just a delight to walk through—may be very interesting even for those with little interest in what you might think would just be another boring ‘old chair and table’ display—not so! The DeWitt Wallace Museum was a great and very enjoyable experience—again one of the best museum/historic display presentations I have ever had the pleasure to discover and enjoy. We do definitely intend to come back and experience it again!”January 2014—Visitor from Whitby, Ontario, Canada

“It was ninety degrees outside the day that we first visited this museum. I confess that it was mostly to get out of the heat. But what a gem we discovered. We attended three free tours, one conducted by a museum curator and I would highly recommend doing that. We learned so much and appreciated the exhibits so much more. The guides pointed out details and significant things that we would have missed on our own. The highlight was the exhibit of three styles of southern furniture and the curator was invaluable, answering every question. We found ourselves going back to the museum in the course of our trip to see galleries we hadn’t visited yet and revisiting ones we especially liked. After visiting the Coffee House in Colonial Williamsburg, I really appreciated the exhibit detailing how it was reconstructed, the materials used.” August 2013—Visitor from Joliet, Illinois

‘What a surprise! We liked the well done display techniques, the vast extent of the museum, the comfort, the fantastic art and much more! We could have spent a whole day here, and been thrilled. The frequent areas to sit and relax and just contemplate the treasures were great, and the availability of helpful staff was good. We would return many times without ever being bored, or finished!” May 2013—Visitor from South Carolina

Tall case clock, Thomas Tompion, London, England, ca. 1700, Museum Purchase

“A map of the British and French Dominions in North America…”John Mitchell, London, England, 1755, Museum Purchase

Portrait of George Washington,Charles Willson Peale, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1780, Gift of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Naming Opportunities: The Art Museums of Colonial WilliamsburgPlease use the floor plans on the following pages to locate the specific naming opportunities.

Museum Expansion Naming Gift $25,000,000

NAMING OPPORTUNITIES FOR MUSEUM EXPANSION GALLERIES

New Entrance, Lobby, and Grand Concourse $5,000,000

Café and Events $2,000,000

New Introductory Gallery $1,500,000

Southeast Changing Gallery $1,000,000

Southwest Changing Gallery $1,000,000

New Folk Art Changing Exhibitions Gallery (Funded) $1,000,000

New Prints and Maps Gallery $1,000,000

DEWITT WALLACE DECORATIVE ARTS MUSEUM NAMING OPPORTUNITIES

Masterworks Gallery $2,000,000

Textiles Gallery (Partially Funded) $1,500,000

Toys and Doll Houses Gallery $1,000,000

Central Changing Gallery (Funded) $1,000,000

North Changing Gallery (Funded) $1,000,000

Education Studio (Funded) $1,000,000

Paintings Gallery $1,000,000

Tools and Weapons Gallery – Lower Level Floor Plan $1,000,000

Musical Instruments Gallery – Lower Level Floor Plan $1,000,000

Archaeology Gallery – Lower Level Floor Plan $1,000,000

Reading Room – Lower Level Floor Plan $500,000

ABBY ALDRICH ROCKEFELLER FOLK ART MUSEUM NAMING OPPORTUNITIES

Folk Art Gallery 205 $500,000

Folk Art Gallery 207 $500,000

“Artifacts are three-dimensional documents that should be read like letters and public papers. They are a record of the people. If antiques are treated as documents, our views and interpretation of the past are broadened, allowing people without a voice to speak.” Wendell Garrett, Chattanooga Free Press interview, 1995

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