Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will relocate and renovate two adjacent art storage rooms from the basement of the museum to a higher level. These rooms housing textiles, unframed Tibetan thangkas, Asian screens and scroll paintings are subject to rising moisture through the concrete slab due to the height of the water table. To address this problem the museum will refurbish an existing space previously used for staff offices; equip the new space with a compact (SpaceSaver) rail system; relocate the existing storage furniture (Delta cabinets) specifically purchased with IMS funds in 1999; purchase a limited quantity of new storage furniture based upon the recent growth of the collection; contract with a textile conservator to conduct a detailed survey of approximately 100 works acquired since the last survey in 1999, and; physically move the collection. Properly housing these objects and assessing future conservation needs will ensure that the collections can be shared with generations to come, helping educate audience about the world history of art.