Editor's note: The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts provided source material to Resource Library for the following article. If you have questions or comments regarding the source material, please contact the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts directly through either this phone number or web address:
An Enduring Legacy: Paintings Acquired Through the J. Harwood and Louise B. Cochrane Fund for American Art
August 10, 2005 - Fall 2008
(above: "Christ and His Disciples on the Sea of Galilee," ca. 1910, is an oil on artist's canvas board by Henry Ossaw Tanner (American, 1858-1937). It was acquired by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts through the J. Harwood and Louise B. Cochrane Fund for American Art. (Photo by Katherine Wetzel, © 2005 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will pay tribute to two
major benefactors in the exhibition An Enduring Legacy: Paintings Acquired
Through the J. 
Harwood and
Louise B. Cochrane Fund for American Art, opening
August 10, 2005 and continuing through Fall 2008.
Among artists whose work will be featured on a rotating basis are Thomas Hart Benton, William Merritt Chase, Jasper Francis Cropsey, Frederick Carl Frieseke, Robert Henri, Henry Ossawa Tanner, John Trumbull and James McNeill Whistler.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director Dr. Michael Brand says the American art collection "would not enjoy such a prominent position at VMFA without all that the Cochranes have done, both as benefactors and community leaders. "Harwood and Louise Cochrane have built a strong and extraordinary foundation for our American collection, and, as the museum's collection and related programs continue to grow, the Cochrane name will forever be associated with American art at VMFA," Brand says. (right: Dr. Michael Brand, Director, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Photo © 2000 Mike Curtin)
In 1988, the Cochranes, who live in Hanover County near Richmond, established an endowment for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, enabling the institution to acquire significant examples of American art. Today, nearly two decades and nearly 20 acquisitions later, the Cochrane Fund has "helped to transform the museum's American holdings into a nationally recognized collection," Brand adds.
Earlier this year the Virginia General Assembly passed
a join resolution commending the Cochranes "for their extraordinary
generosity toward a wide range of worthy religious, educational and arts
organizations." 
Harwood and Louise Cochrane have each served 10-year terms as Virginia Museum of Fine Arts trustees. The couple also gave the museum 44 acres of downtown Richmond property on the South bank of the James River, and have bequeathed their house and farm in Hanover County to the museum. In 1998, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts named the couple Patrons of the Arts. (left: J. Harwood and Louise B. Cochrane. Photo by David Stover, © 2005 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)
The showing of An Enduring Legacy: Paintings Acquired Through the J. Harwood and Louise B. Cochrane Fund for American Art will be on long-term view as the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts undergoes a $108-million expansion that will add more than 100,000 square feet to the museum's existing 240,000-square-foot complex. [1]
The organizer of An Enduring Legacy is the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Curators are David Park Curry, Curator of American Arts, and Elizabeth O'Leary, Associate Curator of American Arts
(above: "The Abundance of Nature," ca. 1855, is
an oil on canvas by Severin Roesen (American, ca. 1815-ca. 1872). It was
acquired by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts through the J. Harwood and
Louise B. Cochrane Fund for American Art. (Photo © 2005 Virginia Museum
of Fine Arts)
Checklist for the exhibition
(above: Robert Henri (American, 1865-1929) "Spanish Girl of Madrid (Una Chula)," 1908, oil on canvas, 60 by 40 inches. Acquired by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts through the J. Harwood and Louise B. Cochrane Fund for American Art. Photo by Katherine Wetzel, © 2005 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)
(above: Robert F. Blum (American, 1857-1903), "The Temple Court of Fudo Sama at Meguro, Tokyo," 1891, oil on canvas, 27 by 19-7/8 inches. Acquired by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts through the J. Harwood and Louise B. Cochrane Fund for American Art. Photo by Katherine Wetzel, © 2005 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)
(above: Thomas Hart Benton (American, 1889-1975), "Brideship (Colonial Brides)," ca. 1927-1928, oil and egg tempera on canvas, mounted on composite board. Gift of R. Crosby Kemper and museum purchase, The J. Harwood and Louise B. Cochrane Fund for American Art. Photo by Katherine Wetzel, © 2005 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)
1. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the architectural firm of Rick
Mather + SMBW have engaged in planning the largest expansion project in
the museum's history. The expansion will include the addition of 100,000
new square feet of space to the museum and substantial renovation and reworking
of the existing building to thoroughly integrate it with the new 
section. The addition will increase gallery space by nearly 50 percent,
making the art collections much more accessible and increasing the museum's
capacity to host major exhibitions. The project also includes development
of the museum's campus, where nearly four acres of surface parking will
be reclaimed as landscape in the creation of an extraordinary new sculpture
garden. The garden, at the heart of the 13-acre campus, will terrace over
a new parking deck, making that structure blend into the landscape. The
deck will provide parking for 600 cars, significantly increasing the museum's
parking capacity from its current 275 spaces. This project will transform
VMFA and enhance its potential to serve a larger audience. The project's
conceptual design has been completed, and construction is scheduled to begin
in 2005. (right: This elevation depicts the expanded VMFA from the Boulevard
or east side. (© 2003 Rick Mather Architects)
Read more articles and essays concerning this institutional source by visiting the sub-index page for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Resource Library.
Visit the Table of Contents for Resource Library for thousands of articles and essays on American art.
© Copyright 2005 Traditional Fine Arts Organization, Inc., an Arizona nonprofit corporation. All rights reserved.