Gari Melchers Home and Studio will host a spring open house on Sunday, April 11 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
The open house will allow visitors a chance to experience the formal gardens of the property in full bloom as well as the surrounding woodland paths and trails. Visitors are encouraged to bring picnic lunches to enjoy on the grounds. The House Museum and Studio will both be open for tours throughout the day.
In the studio, the spring spotlight exhibition piece will be Gari Melchers’ “Madonna of the Rappahannock,” a 1923 painting on loan from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond. “Belmont through a Lens: Photographs by Frances Benjamin Johnston,” an exhibition of 18 historic images of its site by this pioneering female photographer also will be on the display. A special mural created by students who participated in the 2010 Spring Break Arts Camp will be on display in the Studio Pavilion.
Gari Melchers Home and Studio is a 28-acre estate and former residence of the artist Gari Melchers and his wife Corinne. The property, which is operated by the University of Mary Washington, is both a Virginia Historic Landmark and a National Historic Landmark. Located at 224 Washington St. in Falmouth, Va., a quarter mile west of the intersection of U.S. 1 and U.S. 17, it is open daily with an admission charge. The museum also serves as the official Stafford County Visitor Center. For directions and other information, call (540) 654-1015 or visit the museum Web site at www.GariMelchers.org.