Museum of Fine Arts

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is the largest of its kind in Virginia with more than 500,000 square feet of exhibit space on 13 acres of land.

It is one of two major art museums in Virginia. The other is the Chrysler Art Museum in the Hampton Roads city of Norfolk.

The museum resides in what Richmond calls the Museum District of the city. It includes within less than a mile of each other the Virginia Museum of History and Culture, the Science Museum of Virginia and the Children’s Museum of Richmond.

This state-supported, privately endowed institution has more than 23,000 works of art in more than a dozen collections including African, American, Ancient American, Ancient, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, East Asian, English Silver, European, Faberge, South Asian, Mid to Late 20th Century and 21st Century art.

The Faberge collection is the largest group of Imperial Easter Eggs outside Russia.

Especially noteworthy are the museum’s collections of Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Modern and Contemporary American art; French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art and British sporting art; American art; and the Gans Collection of English Silver. The museum says that its holdings of South Asian, Himalayan, and African art are among the finest in the nation.

The three and a half acre Robins Sculpture Garden is especially pretty during good weather. Works on view include Henry Moore, Aristide Maillol, Dale Chihuly and Oronzio Maldarelli.

The permanent collections in the museum and the sculpture garden are free to the public. Parking in the parking deck is free to members and $6 per day for nonmembers.

The museum also features ongoing visiting exhibits. Visiting exhibits have an entrance fee that visitors can pay for online or in the museum lobby.

The museum has quite a few educational programs for every age group. They include classes, workshops, lectures and films.

Nearby Attractions

The Virginia Museum of Culture and History is right next door to the art museum. The Children’s Museum of Richmond at 2626 W. Broad St. is three fourths of a mile northeast of the museum and within walking distance of moderately fit people.

The VMFA museum has a cafe and restaurant. Anyone who wants more choices and do some shopping at the same time can drive or walk three fourths of a mile west to the stylish district of Carytown. The majority of those shops and restaurants are on the aptly named Cary Street.