VMFA receives 1,986 photographs from Joy of Giving Something Inc
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) has been gifted 1,986 photographs from Joy of Giving Something Inc (JGS), an organization created by Howard and Janet Stein. This collection spans the 19th to 21st centuries and features works from over 450 artists, including notable figures like Charles Marville, Eugène Atget, Alfred Stieglitz, and Dorothea Lange. Howard Stein (1926-2011) began his collecting journey in the 1980s and founded JGS in 1998. In 2023, VMFA received significant portfolios, such as Paul Strand's Photographs of Mexico (1940) and Larry Clark's Tulsa (1971). The JGS board has opted to donate the majority of its collection, which will be showcased in new galleries set to open in 2027. Other beneficiaries include the Studio Museum in Harlem and Yale Center for British Art.
Key facts
- VMFA received 1,986 photographs from Joy of Giving Something Inc (JGS).
- Donation includes works by over 450 artists and nearly 200 photographic series.
- Collection assembled by Howard Stein (1926-2011), a financier who started collecting in the 1980s.
- Highlights include works by Charles Marville, Eugène Atget, Nadar, and others.
- VMFA received a group of portfolios in 2023, including Paul Strand's Photographs of Mexico and Larry Clark's Tulsa.
- JGS board elected to donate the majority of its remaining collection after the 2023 transfer.
- VMFA received a grant to support cataloguing and storage of the gifted works.
- New photography galleries at VMFA are scheduled to open in 2027.
- Other institutions that received JGS donations include Studio Museum in Harlem, Peabody Essex Museum, Yale Center for British Art, Harvard Art Museums, and Museum of the City of New York.
Entities
Artists
- Charles Marville
- Eugène Atget
- Nadar
- Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey
- Gustave Le Gray
- Alfred Stieglitz
- Dora Maar
- László Moholy-Nagy
- Man Ray
- Berenice Abbott
- Walker Evans
- Dorothea Lange
- Leonard Freed
- Marc Riboud
- Mary Ellen Mark
- Margaret Bourke-White
- Adam Fuss
- David Goldblatt
- Gilles Peress
- Rosalind Fox Solomon
- Paul Strand
- Larry Clark
- Evelyn Hofer
- Howard Stein
- Janet Stein
- Alex Nyerges
- Cindy Sherman
- Stephen Shore
- Alessandra Sanguinetti
Institutions
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
- Joy of Giving Something Inc
- Studio Museum in Harlem
- Peabody Essex Museum
- Yale Center for British Art
- Harvard Art Museums
- Museum of the City of New York
- Joy of Giving Something Inc.
- The Washington Post
Locations
- Richmond
- United States
- Virginia
- France
- Dublin
- Ireland
- Cleveland
- Idaho
- Post Falls