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Museum to open art library

 

The Sonoma Valley Museum of Art is set to open a reference library of approximately 2,500 volumes on artists and exhibitions donated by Stanley Abercrombie and Paul Vieyra. Both are charter members of the museum, which was founded in 1998, and have served extensively on the museum's board and advisory committees through the years.

The Stanley Abercrombie and Paul Vieyra Art Library will be housed in the Pamela and John Story Gallery at the museum. "This extraordinarily impressive collection of books will be a phenomenal resource for art lovers, artists and curators who visit our museum. We are delighted to be able to offer it in a beautiful space alongside works of art in the John and Pamela Story Gallery," said Kate Eilertsen, SVMA executive director

This initial book donation focuses on artists, exhibition and museum design, museum collections and surveys of various art forms.

These volumes are the first stage of a promised gift of 20,000 volumes from Abercrombie and Vieyra, all on the subject of art, architecture and design. Books will be available for reference use within the museum.

"We are delighted that these books have found such a suitable home," said Abercrombie, "The museum is a real asset to our community, and increasing the learning opportunities there fits so well with our desire for the collection."

Both are retired architects whose work has been featured in many publications.

Vieyra served as senior designer at Skidmore Owings and Merrill and at Gensler, while Abercrombie was editor in chief of Interiors magazine and editorial director of Interior Design magazine. One of the 12 books Abercrombie authored, "A Century of Design 1900-2000," is standard reading in many design programs. They moved to Sonoma from New York in the mid-1990s.

The library is part of an ambitious program of new education and public program offerings at the museum. A $100,000 contribution from Sonoma Valley resident Calvin R. Vander Woude last summer, combined with substantial member and donor donations to the museum's annual Fund-A-Need campaign, have enabled SVMA to convert storage and office space to new classrooms in the museum. The museum has been steadily increasing educational offerings for all ages as a way for the community to more fully engage with the art and ideas presented in exhibitions.

 

The museum is located at 551 Broadway. For details, see www.svma.org.