DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum
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The DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum (DWDAM), is a museum dedicated to British and American fine and decorative arts from 1670-1840, located in
Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...
. Situated just outside the historic boundary of
Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in Williamsburg, Virginia. Its historic area includes several hundred restored or recreated buildings from the 18th century, wh ...
, DWDAM was founded with an initial 1982 donation by
DeWitt Wallace William Roy DeWitt Wallace ( ; November 12, 1889 – March 30, 1981), publishing as DeWitt Wallace, was an American magazine publisher. Wallace co-founded ''Reader's Digest'' with his wife Lila Bell Wallace, publishing the first issue in 1922. ...
(1889–1981) and his wife Lila Bell Acheson Wallace (1889–1984) — co-founders of ''
Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...
''. The Wallaces donated $12 million to finance reconstruction of the nation's first public mental hospital the 1773 Public Hospital and construction of the decorative arts museum — to be connected to the hospital by an underground concourse. Having initially opened in 1985, the museum has since expanded to include the
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum (AARFAM) is the United States' first and the world's oldest continually operated museum dedicated to the preservation, collection, and exhibition of American folk art. Located just outside the historic ...
and will undergo another expansion to open in 2019 with a new, street-level entrance. The museum features diverse collections related to the founding of the United States — including furniture, paintings, silver, numismatics, ceramics, tools, textiles, glass, maps, weapons, media and other objects from the permanent Colonial Williamsburg collection.


Facility

DWDAM is accessed through and underneath the ''Public Hospital of 1773'', which commemorates the first
mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...
facility in the
Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...
.The DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum
/ref> The facility features a restaurant as well as the Hennage Auditorium, which offers lectures and musical performances. In 2006, the
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum (AARFAM) is the United States' first and the world's oldest continually operated museum dedicated to the preservation, collection, and exhibition of American folk art. Located just outside the historic ...
relocated from its original location on S. England Street to share an expansion of the Wallace museum. Though co-located in a single building, both collections retain their respective names — and are together known as the ''Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg.'' In 2014, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation announced a $40 million addition to the two co-located museums to break ground in April 2017 and open in 2019 — to include an expansion of 65,000sf and a new more accessible street-level entrance on Nassau Street.


DeWitt and Lila Wallace

In 1922, the Wallaces published the first issue of their ''Reader's Digest'', largely a carefully selected compilation of magazine articles of many types. The concept was well received and soon became one of the most widely circulated periodicals in the world.
Laurance Rockefeller Laurance Spelman Rockefeller (May 26, 1910 – July 11, 2004) was an American businessman, financier, philanthropist, and conservationist. Rockefeller was the third son and fourth child of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. ...
, whose parents were the original financial drivers of Colonial Williamsburg, was a longtime friend and associate of
DeWitt Wallace William Roy DeWitt Wallace ( ; November 12, 1889 – March 30, 1981), publishing as DeWitt Wallace, was an American magazine publisher. Wallace co-founded ''Reader's Digest'' with his wife Lila Bell Wallace, publishing the first issue in 1922. ...
, and Wallace, in turn became a major funder of the Rockefeller's project. The Wallace's also appointed Laurance Rockefeller as an outside director at Reader's Digest. For relaxation, the Wallaces had been regular visitors to Colonial Williamsburg for over 50 years when they became involved as major financial supporters.Educational Leadership , Arts & Culture Participation , The Wallace Foundation
/ref> The museum opened in 1985, after the death of Dewitt Wallace in 1981 and Lila Wallace in 1984.


References


External links


DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, Colonial Williamsburg
{{authority control Museums in Williamsburg, Virginia Art museums and galleries in Virginia Decorative arts museums in the United States Colonial Williamsburg 1985 establishments in Virginia Art museums and galleries established in 1985