Melchers Gray Purchase Award Archives

The University of Mary Washington Department of Art and Art History announced its student awards at the opening reception of the Annual Student Art Exhibition at the duPont Gallery on Wednesday, April 8.

Senior Taylor White of Stafford received the Melchers Gray Purchase Award for his video “A Lawful Order.” The work will become part of the university’s permanent collection. Senior Marie Firth of Vienna received the Emil Schnellock Award in Painting for her painting “Peggy Childers.” The Department of Art and Art History presents this award each year to recognize excellence in painting. Senior Khirstie Smith of Spotsylvania was presented the Anne Elizabeth Collins Award for her piece, “June Beach.” The following students also received awards at the exhibition’s opening ceremony:

Maddox Palmer of Arlington received an award of excellence
Christine Valvo of Stafford received an award of excellence
Ashley Most of Front Royal received an award of excellence
Katie Frazier of Lexington received the Art History Award for Outstanding Research
Alyssa Hughes of Chesapeake received The Melchers Award for Excellence in Art History

Tosha Grantham, curator of Second Street Gallery in Charlottesville, selected works for the exhibition from more than 100 submissions and chose the recipients of awards of excellence, along with the Melchers Gray Purchase Award, Emil Schnellock Award in Painting and the Ann Elizabeth Collins Award. The Student Art Exhibition will run through Sunday, April 26 in the duPont Gallery, located on College Avenue at Thornton Street. The exhibition is open to the publ without charge and selected works are for sale. The duPont Gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. Free parking is designated for gallery visitors in a lot across College Avenue at Thornton Street. For more information about the UMW Galleries, visit http://www.umwgalleries.org/.

The University of Mary Washington Galleries is hosting its inaugural Melchers Gray Purchase Award Showcase, the first time the collection has been shown together since the founding of the Purchase Award in 1995. The exhibit is one of two shows that opened Thursday, September 4, at UMW Galleries, including “The [Visual] Poetry of Logical Ideas” at the Ridderhof Martin Gallery. Click to view slideshow. The exhibitions will run through Sunday, Oct. 5. Admission is free and open to the public. The Purchase Award Showcase features the work of students who have won the Melchers Gray Award, a recognition presented to one student each year during the Annual Student Art Exhibition. The award-winning work becomes part of the university’s permanent collection. This exhibition will feature more than 20 works including sculptures, painting, prints, photographs, mixed media and digital media pieces. “The [Visual] Poetry of Logical Ideas”explores the relationship between rationality and beauty- between the perfection of a conceptual form and the visual pleasure it manifests. This gallery also will exhibit the “Arthur Hash: Wearable Objects.” Hash’s recent works utilize digital fabrication technologies, such as 3-D printing, which will be on display. Ridderhof Martin and duPont galleries are located on the Fredericksburg Campus near the intersection of College Avenue and Thornton Street. They are open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call (540) 654-1013 or visit http://www.umwgalleries.org/.