DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum

DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum is a premier institution dedicated to British and American decorative arts from the 17th through early 19th centuries. Located in Williamsburg, Virginia, it forms a core part of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's educational and cultural offerings. The museum's extensive holdings, displayed in a purpose-built underground facility, provide a deep material context for understanding colonial and federal life in North America and its Atlantic World connections.

History

The museum was founded in 1985 through a major gift from DeWitt Wallace, the co-founder of Reader's Digest, and his wife Lila Bell Acheson Wallace. Their philanthropy was instrumental in expanding the cultural mission of Colonial Williamsburg beyond outdoor living history. The institution was conceived to house and display the Foundation's growing collections of fine and decorative arts, which had been assembled since the 1930s under the guidance of early curators like John D. Rockefeller Jr. and experts such as Arthur A. Shurcliff. Its opening marked a significant shift towards presenting material culture as a primary historical text, complementing the restored buildings and interpretive programs of the adjacent Historic Area.

Collections

The museum's collection of over 70,000 objects is renowned for its depth and quality, with particular strength in Tidewater Virginia and southern furnishings. Key areas include one of the world's finest collections of American furniture from the period 1640 to 1840, featuring masterworks from centers like Boston, Newport, Philadelphia, and Charleston. The ceramic and glass collections are extensive, showcasing English delftware, Chinese export porcelain, and American glass. Other highlights encompass important holdings of English silver, textiles including needlework and quilts, paintings, prints, and metalwork. The collection of Virginia-made furniture and musical instruments, such as those by Anthony Hay, is especially significant for regional studies.

Architecture and building

Designed by the architectural firm Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates, the museum is an innovative underground structure situated adjacent to the Public Hospital of 1773. This subterranean design was chosen to preserve the historic vista and landscape of Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Area. Visitors enter through the reconstructed Public Hospital building, descending into a spacious, modern gallery environment that contrasts with the above-ground 18th-century setting. The building's design received acclaim for its sensitive integration into a historic site, creating a state-of-the-art museum facility without visual intrusion. The complex also connects to the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, forming a unified arts campus.

Exhibitions and programs

The museum presents a rotating selection of permanent collection highlights and special temporary exhibitions that explore themes in decorative arts history. Past exhibitions have examined topics such as the Anglo-American furniture trade, the work of silversmiths like Paul Revere, and the cultural meanings of tea in the colonial era. Its robust programming includes lectures by scholars like Morrison H. Heckscher and Brock Jobe, hands-on workshops in traditional crafts, symposia co-sponsored with institutions like the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, and curated tours. The museum also serves as a major research center for scholars and students, with its collections extensively published in catalogs and journals such as The Magazine Antiques.

Relationship to Colonial Williamsburg

The museum is an integral component of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the private non-profit that operates the world's largest living history museum. It provides the material authenticity underpinning the Foundation's interpretive narrative, with many objects serving as prototypes for reproductions used in the Historic Area's exhibition buildings. The institution works closely with other departments, including Historical Interpretation, Archaeology, and the Conservation labs, to foster a comprehensive understanding of early American life. Alongside the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum and the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg, it forms a cultural anchor that attracts a global audience, enhancing Williamsburg's status as a center for the study of early American history and culture.

Category:Art museums in Virginia Category:Decorative arts museums in the United States Category:Museums in Williamsburg, Virginia Category:Colonial Williamsburg Category:1985 establishments in Virginia