For many arts enthusiasts, stopping by a museum or gallery is an essential part of a vacation or short weekend trip. And now, Northern Virginians who are heading down to Colonial Williamsburg this summer can take in the new updates at the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg.
After a three-year construction project, visitors are now able to enjoy an improved experience through a new 65,000-square-foot wing to the building that houses the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museums and the Abby Aldrich Rockefellers Folks Art Museum.
The project was completely donor funded, and totaled $41.7 million. It added enhanced amenities including a new grand entrance, the Dixie D. Wolf Pavilion on South Nassau Street; a new street-level lobby with spaces for ticket sales, information desks, cloakroom/lockers, donor recognition and more; an addition 25% gallery space; an increase in size to the Museum Cafe and the Museum Store; improved car parking; better acoustics in the Hennage Auditorium; and new wireless technology to provide modern interactivity throughout the galleries for visitors.
There are also now four new exhibitions for guests to enjoy this summer, including The Art of Edward Hicks, the largest single collection of material by Hicks, who was one of the country’s best-known folk artists; American Folk Pottery: Art and Tradition, showcasing nearly 50 clay vessels reflecting regional styles and traditions; Early American Faces, with paintings and watercolors from both museums that tell the stories of many American groups, including slaves and Native Americans; and The Virginia-British Connection: British Paintings with Virginia Ties, which reflects on the strong ties between the British colony and England itself through portraiture.
For more information, visit colonialwilliamsburg.org. // 301 S. Nassau St., Williamsburg; tickets begin at $14.99
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