Virginia Museum of Fine Arts receives major gift of photography

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) announced on May 19, 2026, a major gift of 1,986 photographs from Joy of Giving Something, Inc. (JGS), a nonprofit organization committed to advancing the art of photography and access to photographic works and education. This donation to VMFA features important photographs by more than 450 artists and includes nearly 200 bodies of work created between the 19th century and the present day.

“One of the extraordinary aspects of this gift is that it enables the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to explore the work of so many talented photographers,” said Director and CEO Alex Nyerges. “Together, these wonderful works will strengthen our ability to present the rich history of photography in focused ways and augment opportunities for display and public programming in the museum’s five new photography galleries, which are scheduled to open in 2027 as part of VMFA’s expansion and renovation project.”

The photographs are drawn from the extensive holdings assembled by financier Howard Stein (1926–2011), who began to collect photography in the 1980s and amassed one of the most significant collections of historic, modern and contemporary photography in the United States. In 1998, Stein founded Joy of Giving Something, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, to support forward-thinking art projects and youth education initiatives in photography and related media.

In 2017, JGS began placing work from Stein’s collection with select museums across the United States. As part of this distribution plan, in 2023 the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts received a major gift of photographic portfolios and series, including Paul Strand’s Photographs of Mexico (1940) and Larry Clark’s Tulsa (1980). The gift also included large bodies of work by David Maisel (American, born 1961), Tanya Marcuse (American, born 1964), Raymond Meeks (American, born 1963) and Mark Steinmetz (American, born 1961), among others.

Following that gift, the JGS foundation’s board elected to offer the museum the vast majority of the remaining collection. Among the highlights are a substantial group of works by Charles Marville (French, 1813–1879), rare daguerreotypes by Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey (French, 1804–1892), exceptional prints by Gustave Le Gray (French, 1820–1884), Eugène Atget (French, 1857–1927) and Nadar (French, 1820–1910), and nearly 200 19th-century vernacular and cased objects that demonstrate the inventiveness and social uses of early photography.

Equally significant is the gift’s depth in American photography and documentary traditions. It includes works by groundbreaking modernists such as Alfred Stieglitz (American, 1864–1946), Dora Maar (French, 1907–1997), László Moholy-Nagy (American, born Hungary, 1895–1946), and Man Ray (American, 1890–1976), as well as seminal documentary figures including Berenice Abbott (American, 1898–1991), Walker Evans (American, 1903–1975), Leonard Freed (American, 1929–2006), Dorothea Lange (American, 1895–1965), Mary Ellen Mark (American, 1940–2015), Arthur Rothstein (American, 1915–1985) and Margaret Bourke-White (American, 1904–1971).

The donation extends into the later 20th century with important work by Adam Fuss (British, born 1961), David Goldblatt (South African, 1930–2018), Gilles Peress (French, born 1946), Marc Riboud (French, 1923–2016), Fazal Sheikh (American, born 1965), Rosalind Fox Solomon (American, 1930–2025), and many other photographers whose work broadens and complicates established narratives of photographic history.

“Through its breadth and depth, this gift significantly elevates the museum’s standing as a center for the study and presentation of photography,” said Dr. Sarah Kennel, the Aaron Siskind Curator of Photography and Director of the Raysor Center for Works on Paper at VMFA. “It opens new directions for future collecting — particularly through greatly expanded holdings of 19th- and early 20th-century photography — and will serve as a cornerstone for exhibitions and rotations in the new photography galleries, offering visitors a richer and more inclusive view of the medium’s history across multiple voices and practices.”

In addition to expanding the museum’s holdings overall, the donation of photographic works is accompanied by a significant grant to support the cataloging and housing of the collection. VMFA is profoundly grateful to Joy of Giving Something, Inc. for its foundational support of the museum’s photography program.

“JGS is extremely pleased to make this landmark donation to VMFA. It is the largest donation that JGS has made to any museum or university across the country, and we are confident that it will complement and grow the major commitment the museum has already made to the field of photography,” said Jeffrey Hoone, president of Joy of Giving Something. “We look forward to all the good things that stem from the donation in the years to come.”

Among the most important photography collectors of the past 50 years, JGS founder Howard Stein enthusiastically embraced the diversity and creativity of the photographic medium, qualities that are reflected in this important gift.

To learn more about the museum’s permanent art collection, visit www.VMFA.museum.

About Joy of Giving Something, Inc.

Joy of Giving Something (JGS) is a foundation based in Syracuse, NY, that was founded in 1998 by Howard and Janet Stein to support creative projects in photography and related media that attempt to illuminate the impact of present-day events and discoveries on future conditions. To accomplish this goal, JGS makes grants to arts organizations that support emerging artists working in photography and related media and supports educational programs in photography and related media for middle- and high-school-aged youth.

JGS has donated significant portions of its collection to museums and universities including the Peabody Essex Museum, the Yale Center for British Art, Harvard Art Museum, Syracuse University, Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College, the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Museum of the City of New York.

About the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Virginia, is one of the largest comprehensive art museums in the United States. VMFA, which opened in 1936, is a state agency and privately endowed educational institution. Its purpose is to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret art, and to encourage the study of the arts. Through the Office of Statewide Partnerships Program, the museum offers curated exhibitions, arts-related audiovisual programs, symposia, lectures, conferences, and workshops by visual and performing artists.

In addition to presenting a wide array of special exhibitions, the museum provides visitors with the opportunity to experience a global collection of art that spans more than 6,000 years. VMFA’s permanent holdings encompass more than 50,000 artworks, including the largest public collection of Fabergé outside of Russia, the finest collection of Art Nouveau outside of Paris and one of the nation’s finest collections of American art. VMFA is also home to important collections of Chinese art, English silver, French Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, British sporting and modern and contemporary art, as well as renowned South Asian, Himalayan and African art.

In May 2010, VMFA opened the James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin Wing I after a transformative expansion, previously the largest in its history. A new expansion, the McGlothlin Wing II, is scheduled to open in 2029. Comprising more than 170,000 square feet, it will be the largest expansion in the museum’s history and will make VMFA the fourth largest comprehensive art museum in the United States.