As the official steward of the Longwood University art collection, the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts (LCVA) exhibits art in its location on Main Street and throughout the Longwood University campus. Through the Patricia P. Cormier Art on Campus Program, works from the LCVA collection bring a wide range of subjects, media and cultural traditions into Longwood’s academic and administrative spaces.
Today, works of art can be seen in more than 10 buildings across campus with plans to incorporate art into future buildings. Many works in the collection were contributed by Longwood alumni and friends to encourage learning and foster connections across disciplines. Together, they demonstrate the importance of history and culture while illustrating hope, beauty and the power of the human imagination.
Art on campus is available for public viewing during normal Longwood University operating hours.
Longwood Center for the Visual Arts
The LCVA is a 33,000-square-foot exhibition and education center. Its main level includes the William T. and Harriet Butterworth (Class of 1951) Miller Gallery, the Thomas Sully Gallery, the Barbara L. Bishop Gallery and the Main Street Gallery. A gallery and classroom are located on the lower level. Rotating exhibitions reflect the LCVA’s mission and feature contemporary art, works representing the history of art and selections from the LCVA’s collections of African, American, Asian and European art.
Patricia P. Cormier Art on Campus Program
Named for President Emerita Patricia P. Cormier (tenure 1996–2010), a champion of the visual arts and the LCVA, the Patricia P. Cormier Art on Campus Program brings works from the LCVA collection into academic and administrative buildings across Longwood University’s campus. These permanent displays make art part of the everyday experience of students, faculty, staff and visitors.
Allen Hall
Throughout Allen Hall, the Jack Blanton Collection adorns spaces with contemporary art (primarily by Virginians).
Painting Credit:
Mitchell Johnson (b. Rock Hill, South Carolina, 1964, active in Palo Alto, California), Camion Rosso (Buonconvento), 1997, oil on canvas, American Art Collection, The Jack Blanton Collection, Gift of Jack Blanton, 2021.1.2.21
Blackwell Hall
Robert B. and Margaret T. (Class of 1952) Mayo Gallery
Blackwell Hall features highlights (paintings) from the Robert B. and Margaret T. (Class of 1952) Mayo Collection of American Art.
Painting Credit:
Rockwell Smith Brank, Jr. (Summit, New Jersey, 1917-2007, active in Ohio) Evening at Ponta do Sol, c. 1930s, oil on canvas, American Art Collection, Gift of Robert B. and Margaret T. Mayo in honor of Dr. Patricia Cormier, 2012.15.2
Brock Commons
At the southern terminus of Brock Commons stands the monumental 15-foot-tall bronze sculpture Joan of Arc (2018) by Alexander Stoddart (Scottish, b. 1959).
John H. and Karen Williams Chichester Science Center
Opened in 2006, Longwood’s Chichester Science Center celebrates the interaction of art and science with 90 works from the LCVA’s permanent collection. Each work was selected for its relevance to a discipline taught in the science department. The art ranges from traditional to contemporary and from serious to jovial. Subjects explore ecology, biology, chemistry, physics, botany and geography.
Eason Hall
Henry and Bernice Beazley (Class of 1970) Rowe Gallery
Eason Hall features highlights from the Henry and Bernice Beazley (Class of 1970) Rowe Chinese Art Collection. This collection of Chinese art represents nearly every dynasty of China, with a primary focus on ceramics.
Grainger Hall
The walls of Grainger Hall, where students study modern languages and literature, feature a collection of 19th-century prints. Most were given to Longwood University by Mary Kossuth Shumate and by Homer “Kip” Kephart in memory of Bobby Chandler. The collection ranges from steel engravings created for a tourist guide to Versailles to an architect’s sketches of Spanish buildings. It also includes prints reproducing “world-famous pictures” from the 18th and 19th centuries that reflect late Victorian tastes. Together the works evoke the cultures and history of Europe.
Greenwood Library
Paintings from the Lester Blackiston Collection can be seen throughout the building. Made by Virginia artists in the latter part of the 20th century, the works feature lively images of still lifes, people, and places, including charming Richmond cityscapes.
Hull Education Center
Throughout the Hull Education Center, a selection of works from the American Collection inspires education students alongside a rotating display of highlights from the LCVA’s Annual Youth Art Exhibition, which features works by PreK–12 students from 10 counties each summer.
Artwork Credit:
Jerry Eisenburg for Hanna-Barbera Studios (New York City, New York, 1937-2025, active in California), That Means “I Love You” (still from a 1962 Jetsons television show), 1996, Sericel, Graphic Design Study Collection, Gift of Captain and Mrs. Charles R. Baron, 2008.21.27
Jarman Hall
Jarman Hall highlights African art from the Donna and Thomas L. Brumfield, Jr. Collection. The LCVA’s collection features primarily traditional sculptures from cultures found across the African continent.
Artwork Credit:
Face Mask (mukudj), Punu or Lumbo culture, Gabon, polychromed wood, African Art Collection, Gift of Donna and Thomas L. Brumfield, Jr., 1999.89
The Rotunda
Joan of Arc in Domrémy, 1870, Henri-Michel-Antoine Chapu (French, 1833–1891). The Caproni Brothers (Boston, MA) created this plaster cast from the original. The Class of 1914 gave the work to Longwood.
Portraits of several University Presidents are on view, including Patricia P. Cormier, William F. Dorrill, Patrick Finnegan, Janet D. Greenwood, Joseph Jarman, and Henry I. Willett.
On the second floor, a portrait of Dr. C. G. Gordon Moss is on view. Moss was a distinguished Longwood University history professor and dean of women and a champion of integration.
Sally Manson (Class of 1927) Cole Gallery
Featuring the Waverly M. Cole Collection of 19th-Century Decorative Arts, this collection highlights fine examples of Bohemian glass, English pottery and Meissen porcelain. Also on view in this gallery is a bronze reduction of Joan of Arc (1915) by Anna Hyatt Huntington (American, 1876-1973), which was a gift from the class of 1927.
Upchurch University Center
William and Ann Oppenhimer Gallery
This gallery features highlights from the William and Ann Oppenhimer Collection of Folk Art. The collection focuses on contemporary folk art from the 20th and 21st centuries.
Artwork Credit:
Donald Paterson (Silver Springs, California, b. 1944, active in Oakland, California), The Lion Tamer, 1990, crayon, ink, and marker, William and Ann Oppenhimer Folk Art Collection, Gift of William and Ann Oppenhimer, 2008.15.83