• myUMW
  • Banner
  • Canvas
  • Email
  • Library
  • EagleOne
  • MyTime
  • EaglePay
  • Passwords
  • Directory
  • EAB Tools
  • Helpful Links

  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to footer
Gari Melchers Home and Studio

Gari Melchers Home and Studio

Come, explore creativity!

  • Visit
    • Photography
    • Group Tours
  • Explore
    • Studio & Galleries
    • Historic House
    • Garden & Grounds
    • 3D Virtual Tours
  • Gari Melchers
    • Collections
  • Learn
    • Online Resources
    • Blog
    • Field Trips
    • Preschool Palette
    • Picturing New Connections
    • Beeping Egg Hunt
  • Calendar
  • Rentals
    • Weddings
    • Catering List
  • Shop
  • Support

Familiar Face in the News

June 11, 2019 by jcatron Leave a Comment

Reproduced in the 2019 Summer issue of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Magazine is a 1930 portrait painted by Gari Melchers of John Barton Payne.  The caption with it announces a new practice being instituted by museum conservators to display on-going conservation projects in different galleries throughout the museum.

Payne in VMFA news 6-10-19 - detail

Meredith Watson, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts‘ Advanced Fellow in Paintings Conservation, appears in the photo as she outlines the treatment program for the Payne portrait.  Ms. Watson visited with me this past winter in order to inspect Melchers’ portraiture and to gain a better understanding of his methodology. Coincidentally, Belmont’s  bust-length pastel portrait  (black and white version below) of Payne was already on view for Ms. Watson to examine.

Bel 1412

In addition to the VMFA’s portrait, Melchers painted another three-quarter length portrait of Payne in 1924 (black and white version below) for the public library of the town in which Payne grew up, Warrenton, Virginia, and a bust-length oil is in the possession of a descendant. So who is John Barton Payne?

Payne Port of John Barton Warrenton

Citizen extraordinaire John Barton Payne (1855-1935) was secretary of the interior under Wilson, a judge, soon-to-be chairman of the Red Cross,  a passionate collector and a philanthropist.  In 1919 he donated 51 works of art to the Commonwealth of Virginia

Payne Time Maga cover 1923

to form the nucleus of the Virginia Museum of Fine Art’s original holdings. The collection was first installed in Richmond’s newly dedicated Confederate Memorial Institute (popularly known as Battle Abbey), but was transferred in 1936 to the museum’s new facility on Boulevard Avenue for which Payne donated a $100,000 matching grant for construction.

Madonna of the Rappa

Another 300 additional works were subsequently gifted by Payne to the VMFA, including a Renaissance-inspired Madonna of the Rappahannock also by Melchers.

Melchers was another founding member of the museum and in addition to being given the honor of painting the portrait of his good friend John Payne for the VMFA, Gov. John Pollard spearheaded a campaign to name a gallery in memory of the late Gari Melchers.

Category iconGari Melchers,  John Barton Payne,  Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Footer

Gari Melchers Home and Studio Logo

Gari Melchers Home and Studio
224 Washington Street,
Falmouth, VA 22405
540-654-1015
garimelchers@umw.edu

Historic Artists' Homes & Studios
UMW Arts & Culture logo
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • News
    • Media Releases
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest
Check us out on Tripadvisor
© 2020–2021 University of Mary Washington. All rights reserved.
Privacy | Disclaimer | Non-Discrimination