In our last Art Expedition we experienced the paintings of Louis Comfort Tiffany hosted as a special exhibit at Roanoke’s Taubman Museum of Art.

Today we’re back at The Taubman to learn more about this museum’s amazing permanent collection – one of the finest of American art masters in the Southeast.

Location: Nestled in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, Roanoke is a bustling city teeming with history and culture. Roanoke is home to numerous museums, universities and instant access to ‘almost heavenly’ views from The Blue Ridge Parkway.

The Taubman in in the center of Roanoke’s charming historic downtown, which is home to fantastic restaurants, funky shops as well as art and culture.

Brief History of The Taubman Art Museum: The roots of The Taubman date back to 1947 when the Roanoke chapter of the American Association of University Women requested a maor exhibition from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts,which opened in The Hotel Roanoke for a period of time.

In 1951, the Roanoke Fine Arts Center was incorporated and in 1954 opened it’s first location.

In 1965, Anne Funkhouser Francis, donated her family home to the museum and it housed exhibitions by Thomas Eakins and more.

They began to build their permanent collection.

The current building in downtown Roanoke was designed by Randall Stout and completed in 2005. He also designed the building for Chattanooga Hunter Museum of Art as well.

Museum’s OUT OF THIS WORLD Architecture: The ultra modern building is meant to emulate a mountain. I’m personally not a big fan of this style of architecture, but the interior of the museum unleashes the vision of Stout, which natural light poring in that perfectly pairs with the permanent collection.

The Taubman Museum of Art has more than 2,000 works in the collection, from the 10-foot sculpture Art World by James Harold Jennings to the inch-and-a-half square photograph Maggie on Beach with Dog by Thomas Cowperthwaite Eakins, and from 3,500-year-old Egyptian Ushabiti ceramic figures to contemporary Roanoke artists.

The Taubman has a premier American Art collection…a few of the master American Artists you’ll find at The Taubman:

• George Inness
• Thomas and Susan Eakins
• Norman Rockwell
• Childe Hassam
• Theodore Robinson
• Maurice Prendergrast
• Robert Henri
• Frederick Carl Frieske
• John Singer Sargent

They also have a Folk Art and Regional Art Collection

Here are a few of my favorite works from the permanent collection:

Plan your visit to The Taubman: Website

Other fun things to do in Roanoke area:

Center in The Square

• Mill Mountain Coffee is a block from The Taubman and makes a delicious latte!

Mill Mountain Zoo

Roanoke Star

Natural Bridge State Park

Peaks of Otter Lodge (off Blue Ridge Parkway)

• Where to stay: Roanoke has tons of great hotels…we enjoyed our night at The Country Inn and Suites in Hollins (near Roanoke)

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