Two art exhibition catalogues originally published by the Anderson Gallery are now available online through VCU Libraries’ free online repository Scholars Compass.  

For more than 40 years, the Anderson Gallery on the Monroe Park Campus served as a major art exhibition space for the Richmond arts community, as well as being a prominent showcase for contemporary art in the southeast. In 2015, the Anderson Gallery officially closed and its collection of some 3,100 works was transferred to Special Collections and Archives at Cabell Library. Some pieces hang in library spaces. Others are available to researchers by appointment.

Along with the collection of artworks, the Anderson Gallery’s archival records, including exhibition catalogs and other publications, were transferred to the library.  Many of the publications feature artists connected to VCU.

The rights to these publications allow VCU Libraries to publish them online.  They are being digitized on an ongoing and selective basis. This series will present selected digitized versions of catalogues published by the gallery, featuring notable VCUarts faculty. Each catalogue is freely available for download or online reading.  

“Exhibition catalogues typically have small, short runs, especially for galleries and quickly go out of print. Museums and galleries have recognized the need to bring their publications into the digital age to make them more available and accessible,” says Emily Davis Winthrop, Ph.D., an art historian and arts collection librarian. “VCU libraries' efforts have made the Anderson Gallery catalogues within reach of artists and researchers worldwide.”

The inaugural publications in the new Scholars Compass series Anderson Gallery Art Exhibition Catalogues are:

• Siemon Allen: Imaging South Africa: Collection Projects by Siemon Allen: South African artist Siemon Allen's "collection projects" focus on various aspects of South African identity. This catalogue was published in 2010 to accompany the exhibition of his work at the Anderson Gallery.
• Richard Carlyon: Richard Carlyon: A Retrospective: The work of Richard Carlyon (1930-2006), influential artist and VCU faculty member, is being celebrated at a retrospective exhibit at the Reynolds Gallery. This catalogue was published in 2009 in conjunction with a multisite exhibition of his work.

“We are excited to work on these catalogues as part of our publishing initiative,” says Jimmy Ghaphery, associate university librarian for scholarly communications and publishing. “In addition to presenting them online, we are also promoting them through our worldwide library and scholarly publishing networks.”

More about the Anderson Gallery