Belmont Hosts ‘Home for the Holidays’
Melchers Museum Staff Receive Preservation Award

Belmont to Open Historic House

Gari Melchers Home and Studio to Host Film Screening

Gari Melchers Home and Studio Hosts Egg Hunt, April 13

Gari Melchers Home and Studio Hosts Open House, April 6

Book Collector, Appraiser Spoke at Belmont
Allan J. Stypeck, co-host of the former NPR program “The Book Guys,” presented a talk on book collecting at Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont on Sunday, Oct. 13 from 2 to 4 p.m.
Stypeck, a senior member of the American Society of Appraisers and noted antiquarian bookseller and appraiser, offered appraisals on books, manuscripts, maps, ephemera, photographs and recorded materials for museum visitors. Stypeck also is owner of Second Story Books, the landmark Washington, D.C. rare bookstore.
The program is included in the cost of admission to the museum. Reservations are required at (540) 654-1843.
Artist Gari Melchers and his wife Corinne were both book connoisseurs. Despite his studio schedule demands, Gari Melchers devoted his morning hours to the newspaper, made time for a novel or history book and enjoyed studying the pages of art books. Corinne Melchers loved the classics, contemporary novels, biographies and books related to her interests in painting, horticulture and American cultural history.
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 UMW, 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’s website.
Gari Melchers Home and Studio Restores Dining Room
After two years of planning, fundraising and the work of three fine art conservators, Gari Melchers Home and Studio can now showcase a completed and restored version of the dining room décor enjoyed by Gari and Corinne Melchers during their time at Belmont.
The couple’s furnishings deteriorated over the years due to the damaging effects of light, temperature and age, and were no longer representative of the elegant surroundings where the Melchers relaxed and entertained in the 1920s. The completed restoration included the repair and refurbishing of nine original dining chairs, four of which were reupholstered in silk fabric comparable to the original seat covers.
Other work included the repair of the dining room table, repair and re-lining of the original 104-year-old drapes and mending a large Persian Mahal carpet.
Furniture conservator William Ivey of Richmond and upholstery conservator Jennifer Zemanek of Cobbs Creek, Va., completed the chair work for the dining room. Rug conservator Spier Rahn repaired the carpet.
The dining room refurbishing is a continuing effort spanning two decades with a goal to restore the buildings and gardens of Belmont to their 1920s appearance.
Presently, the house, studio and several dependencies have been fully restored. The carriage house was restored and converted into a visitor center and the formal gardens returned to their original design and content.
The home’s paintings and household furnishings were conserved on a regular schedule with permitting funds. The dining room project at Belmont was the highest priority on the museum’s collection conservation list.
The following foundations provided grants to fund the dining room restoration: Fredericksburg Savings Charitable Foundation; Gwathmey Memorial Trust; Duff McDuff Green, Jr. Fund of The Community Foundation of the Rappahannock River Region; Dr. Helen Stewart Jones Trust; Margaret Walker Purinton Foundation; and the Roller-Bottimore Foundation.
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 UMW, 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’s website.
Gari Melchers Home and Studio Joins Special Tour Weekend
Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont, the 1790s country retreat home for artist Gari Melchers, was open free to the public on September 14 and 15 as part of the “Journey through Virginia’s Historic Home Promotional Weekend.”
The promotional weekend followed Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and First Lady Maureen McDonnell’s declaration of 2013 as the “Year of the Historic Home.” The declaration is in conjunction with the Virginia Executive Mansion’s 200th anniversary.
More than 120 sites across the state are classified as historic homes, ranging from pre-Colonial times through the modern era.
For free admission to all historic sites, visit the Virginia Time Travelers: Historic Homes Edition page and print a passport.
For a list of participating historic homes and their hours of operation on September 14 and 15, visit the Virginia Executive Mansion’s page or call (804) 371-2642 ext. 2460.
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 UMW, 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’s website.
Frame Conservator Presents at Belmont

This 1929 painting of bride Miep Halff, housed in a one-of-a-kind, “tabernacle-style” frame, will be the focus of frame conservator Sandy Jensen’s presentation.
Frame conservator Sandy Jensen presented “Frame to Painting: The Gentle Art of Matchmaking” at Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont on Sunday, Sept. 15 at 2 p.m. In the lecture, she shared the history behind Melchers’ “Brabant Bride” with museum visitors.
Jensen presented her illustrated talk on the 1929 painting of bride Miep Halff, housed in a one-of-a-kind, “tabernacle-style” frame, which was recently restored from years of deterioration.Jensen outlined the techniques and ethics involved with the frame’s restoration, and also touched on artist’s objectives in matching their paintings to frames.
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 UMW, 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’s website.