OTHER CATEGORIES

3

Feb

2014

Gari Melchers Home and Studio (Falmouth, VA)

~Gari Melchers Home and Studio~

Belmont Estate

224 Washington Street, Falmouth, VA 22405

(540) 654-1015 / GariMelchers@unw.edu

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I really didn’t know who Gari Melchers (image left, credit: Wikipedia) was until I visited his Belmont Estate in Falmouth, Virginia – a stone’s throw off Highway 17 (Warrenton Road) just across the Rappahannock River from Fredericksburg. Melchers was an early twentieth century American artist who made a good living through his art and produced a large body of work – but was not part of our collective memory.

Melchers was born in 1860 in Detroit, Michigan – his Father was a German-born sculptor. He spent many years abroad – in Germany, France and Holland – but in 1915 returned to the US and lived in New York City. In 1916, Gari Melchers and his wife Corinne bought Belmont Estate in Falmouth, Virginia for their country retreat, and he died at Belmont in 1932.

You can read more about the historic Belmont Estate home here and about the art collection at Belmont here (this collection contains 1,677 paintings and drawings by Melcher, as well as the works of other artists). Works by the artists still pop-up from time-to-time – here is a story of such a discovery by the curator of the Melcher collection. The Estate is administered by the University of Mary Washington.

Belmont is a beautiful place – 28 acres of much-loved gardens and nature trails, a wonderful home and wonderful art.

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