The following is a sneak peek from our August 2018 issue.
Crowds gather for tickets to “Twelve Portraits: Delacroix to Gaugin,” an Artmobile exhibition that premiered in the fall of 1962.
The Buddha needed a seat belt.
The large, wooden 13th-century sculpture was a passenger in a 1968-69 traveling exhibition, “Japanese Art,” in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ rolling gallery known as the Artmobile — the first of its kind in the country. The piece represented the Kannon, known as the bodhisattva of compassion. A bodhisattva is a person who has attained enlightenment, but remains among people to guide them on their way. The Artmobile, in a similar fashion, traveled throughout Virginia for four decades, bringing pieces from the VMFA’s permanent collection and loaned works to remote and rural communities.
Even before its cornerstone was placed in 1936, the museum sent components of its collection around to various chapter gatherings.
The VMFA’s theatrical and enthusiastic director at the time, Leslie Cheek Jr. (1908-92), designed the first Artmobile. Cheek, whose background included architecture, knew that one way to increase museum attendance was to grow prospective visitors. Cheek directed the museum from 1948-68.
Brent Tarter wrote in the Dictionary of Virginia Biography that Cheek “made imaginative use of publicity opportunities and carefully monitored the museum’s press coverage.” The Artmobile program began in 1953 with one state surplus truck and a modified trailer sponsored by the Miller & Rhoads department store. The gallery on wheels often set up in front of schools for the benefit of students.
One such youngster was Jeffrey Allison, who grew up in the Southwest Virginia town of Saltville. One day during the autumn of 1962, his aunt told 6-year-old Allison to prepare for a museum trip. “I thought we were going to New York,” he recalls. “She said, ‘You don’t have to pack, just get in the car.’ ” About a half hour later, in nearby Marion, he stood inside the blue Artmobile in front of portraits by Delacroix, Manet, Renoir, Bazille and Gauguin, all on loan from the collection of Paul and Rachel Lambert Mellon.
“I also saw ‘An American Sampler: Paintings 1815-1865,’ which traveled February to June 1964,” Allison recalls. He chuckles now, musing on how Paul Mellon writes in his autobiography about Cheek persuading him to loan work to the Artmobile. The collector offhandedly notes, ‘I didn’t even know if it was insured.’ ”
Allison, as a high schooler, attended the immersive Three Days in March program for students and teachers, and ultimately received two VMFA art fellowships for his photography. Some years later, he became the VMFA’s Paul Mellon Collection educator and manager of statewide programs and exhibitions. Now, he hopes to ignite interest in the arts among a new generation of Virginians as he oversees the Artmobile program’s revival on Oct. 30, just after its 65th anniversary.
“Somebody in Danville or Abingdon may not get to the VMFA, or, they receive the inspiration to come down and see what we offer,” Allison says.
The Artmobile began with an uncertain driver. William Gaines — “at the time he basically was the museum’s education department,” Allison says — needed to bring the trailer to Fredericksburg for its public debut on Oct. 13, 1953. Cheek assured Gaines that he’d find a driver. The day before the event, however, none appeared, so a Miller & Rhoads trucker instructed Gaines on how to operate the vehicle.
Interior view of the original VMFA Artmobile, featuring works from the Mellon collection
He piloted the Artmobile with its precious cargo of 16th- and 17th-century Dutch and Flemish paintings, including a triptych by Hieronymus Bosch (“Little Dutch Masters” was the title for the group of 16 pieces).
Within weeks, Time and Newsweek magazines ran stories about the Artmobile. Other states and nations adopted the concept for their own institutions. The program expanded to four Artmobiles — including one geared toward college students — all financed by private donors, businesses and foundations.
The Artmobile support team comprised three curators and coordinators in 75 communities. The VMFA offered the Artmobile to its partners for free, stipulating that there be no restrictions on access, which was important at a time of racial division in 1950s and ‘60s Virginia. The community responsibilities included housing for personnel and a way to plug in power for the trailer.
In 1965, a VMFA Artmobile rolled in President Lyndon B. Johnson’s inaugural parade.
The Artmobiles went, in evangelistic fashion, to Virginia’s far corners to spread the news of the museum’s presence. They traveled by ferry to get to the Eastern Shore. In 1965, a VMFA Artmobile rolled in President Lyndon B. Johnson’s inaugural parade, covered by the three major networks. NBC commentator David Brinkley spoke about the program.
A 13th-century wooden Japanese sculpture was among the works to travel the state.
The mobile galleries of shiny aluminum with deep blue trim lumbered along the state’s roads for 41 years. During the Artmobile’s run, no theft or vandalism occurred. The art acquired some nicks and scratches from the hauling around and the changing of installations. And, thankfully, the Buddha got strapped in.
Between their inception and 1994 cessation, Artmobiles took 60 exhibitions throughout the state, and more than 2.3 million Virginians experienced — in some cases for the first time — original works by classical and contemporary artists. In the last year alone, 130,000 people came aboard the one remaining Artmobile to view an exhibition titled “Introducing Virginia Architecture.” The program ended in May 1994 in Fredericksburg, where it had begun.
The 2018 Artmobile, repurposed from its origins as a support vehicle for the Sprint auto racing team, is to feature bamboo floor coverings, contemporary HVAC systems for people and art, a power generator, an artificial skylight to imitate the museum’s great atrium, specialized crates in which to carry the work and protect it from jarring, and European listening devices magnetized for wall attachment. Two Virginia companies won contracts for the renewed Artmobile: Richmond’s Riggs Ward is directing the redesign, and Sterling’s Explus is implementing the ideas.
“The wonderful thing is that we have such a deep range of objects in our permanent collection,” Allison says. “I am very eager to do a show featuring African-American art from the VMFA and one that focuses on photography. I also think we would look at ancient art. As each exhibition runs approximately 16 months to ensure we can reach the entire state, those are some great places to start.”
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