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Current Exhibits
at the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum
The Old Plantation: The Artist Revealed
This exhibition in the Guyton Gallery explores one of the great treasures of the Folk Art Museum, a watercolor known as The Old Plantation. It is one of the most published images in the collection. Although in the collection for more than 70 years, very little was known about it until now. Colonial Williamsburg decorative arts librarian, Susan Shames used her superb skills as a genealogist and researcher to follow the clues and unearth the history of the drawing, including the identity of the artist. View the art at close range and follow its fascinating tale. The complete account of its history has been published in a new Colonial Williamsburg book of the same title. Through February 2013.
Art in Clay: Masterworks of North Carolina Earthenware
This loan exhibition showcases one of the most important and aesthetically significant American pottery traditions. It features dazzling slip-decorated wares and richly glazed sculptural bottles made between 1755 and 1850. The exhibition was organized by Old Salem Museums and Gardens, The Chipstone Foundation, and The Caxambas Foundation. September 24, 2011 through July 29, 2012 in the Gladys & Franklin Clark Foundation Gallery.
The Art of Steve Harley
This exhibition showcases the life and work of Steve Harley (1863-1947) who traveled to the Pacific Northwest and was inspired by such places as Wallowa Lake, Wind River and Mount Hood. His paintings capture the natural beauty of the places in stunning color. Only five paintings survive, all of which are owned by the museum and will be shown in the exhibition along with sketches and photographs. Through August 2012.
Material Witnesses: Quilts and Their Makers
Material Witnesses: Quilts and Their Makers features textiles made as close as Virginia and as far away as the Polynesian Islands. Colonial Williamsburg curators have uncovered the stories of the past through the study and research of these quilts and coverlets, some of which were created as early as the 1830s.
Like the hieroglyphics of Ancient Egypt, quilts can tell us a lot about the past and the people who created them. Sometimes the meanings are obvious, while other textiles reveal their tales more quietly, their stories teased out only through determined research into the genealogical roots of the makers.
About the Exhibit
- Includes 11 quilts, the earliest of which is dated 1835
- Includes 3 woven coverlets, the earliest of which is dated 1834
- Includes 1 embroidered coverlet
The exhibit is funded by Mary and Clinton Gilliland of Menlo Park, Calif., through the Turner Gilliland Family Fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Through May 28, 2012.
Sidewalks to Rooftops: Outdoor Folk Art
This exhibit in the Leslie Anne Miller and Richard B. Worley Gallery examines signboards, storefront figures, weather vanes, marine carvings, whirligigs, carousel animals, and other pieces originally intended for use outdoors. These 19th and 20th-century works survived the elements and bear witness to the creative spirit that once enlivened the American landscape. This exhibition was made possible by a gift from Barry M. Boone in loving memory of his wife, Linda. Ongoing exhibit.
Cross Rhythms: Folk Musical Instruments
This exhibition in the Elizabeth M. and Joseph M. Handley Gallery features banjos, fiddles, and dulcimers from the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Highlights include a piano built into a chest of drawers and a record-playing hippocerous. Ongoing exhibit in the Elizabeth M. and Joseph M. Handley Gallery.
Down on the Farm
This exhibition in the Penelope P. and Dr. Sergio V. Proserpi Gallery follows the story of Prince, a carved wooden dog, as he explores the country side. This family-friendly exhibition features animals in paintings, sculpture and toys. Visitors read rhyming text that tells the adventures of Prince as he meets up with weathervane roosters, carved ducks, and wooden horses. Related sticker book and plush toy available in the Museum Store. Ongoing exhibit in the Penelope P. and Dr. Sergio V. Proserpi Gallery.
Inspiration and Ingenuity: American Stoneware
This exhibition features stoneware pieces from the nineteenth-century through the present day. The exhibition explores the tradition of decorating utilitarian stoneware and its evolution to an art form. Ongoing exhibit.
Conserving the Carolina Room
This exhibition in the Rex and Pat Lucke Gallery highlights the current research and conservation on a nineteenth-century painted room acquired by the museum in the 1950s. Each board, wainscot and door have been investigated and treated to bring them closer to their original appearance. Ongoing exhibit.
The conservation of the Carolina Room was made possible by Mr. and Mrs. Rex A. Lucke of Elkhorn, Nebraska and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional conservation support is provided by the Mildred and J.B. Hickman Conservation Endowment and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Endowed Conservation Fund.
Introduction to American Folk Art
This exhibit in the Jan Curtis and Frank J. Spayth Gallery introduces visitors to the museum and to the collector Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Mrs. Rockefeller admired the artful expressions of non-academic artists from the past and present. She set out to acquire pieces that reflected the best of the American people. When she died in 1948, she left her extensive collection of folk art to Colonial Williamsburg. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., in honor of his wife, built the museum in 1957 to display the collection. Ongoing exhibit.
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