Dear Daytrippers,

The story of one of Virginia’s great but largely forgotten artists!

February and the countdown to Valentine Day begins so I thought I would do something different and share my visit to the 18th- century Belmont estate, country home and studio of prominent American Impressionist painter Gari Melchers. Although the museum is only a faint sign on Interstate 95, I was intrigued. Who was Melchers, and why hadn’t I heard of him?

What I found was a stately manor, welcoming, unpretentious inside with a feeling that happy people lived happy lives here, art that lifted my spirits and a great love story… Corrine Lawton Mackall and Gari Melchers.

He was one of the most successful painters of his time, sought out by the rich and famous. She was a beautiful, young art student, and his biggest fan.

Gari Melchers was one of America’s greatest early twentieth century painters on par with John Singer Sargent. At the young age of 29, he and Sargent became the first two American painters to receive a Grand Prize at the Paris Exposition. Bucking the starving-artist stereotype, Melchers enjoyed great financial success; he painted Vanderbilt’s, Roosevelts and Mellon as well as important murals such of “Peace and War” in the Library of Congress.

By the time Corrine would meet him he was already established as renowned artist. While sailing to Italy on the S.S. Aller in April 1902 with her mother, Corrine learned one of her fellow passengers was Melchers. “I am prostrate and overjoyed,” wrote 21-year-old Corinne Mackall in her diary, “at finding Gari Melchers’ name on the passenger list and keep all eyes open to see him.” She found him. Despite a 20-year age difference, the young art student and the famous artist married a year later, and they shared a wonderful love story, a life devoted to art and to each other.

When World War I broke out, Melcher grew uncomfortable living in Germany. He and Corinne returned to American in 1915 and purchased Belmont which was home for the remainder of their lives.

“There’s a story told about his early days in Falmouth. Dressed in overalls, he headed down the dirt road toward Nelson Berry’s Store. Inside the store, two local residents gave him a friendly greeting and inquired about his occupation. ‘I paint,’ replied the artist. Exchanging amused glances, they shook their heads, and one broke the news to their new neighbor, saying, ‘Well, mister, you won’t get much work ‘round here, ’cause we jist whitewash.’”

Melchers’ years in Virginia were prolific, in volume and in diversity. He painted landscapes, still life’s and religious subjects, but portraits were his mainstay. When he was at Belmont, he painted prominent Virginians such as Douglas Southall Freeman and Governor John Garland Pollard. But his favorite subjects were the everyday people and scenes of rural life he encountered in and around Fredericksburg.

Corrine, for her part, filled her days as lady of the manor, as a member of the Daughters of the Confederacy, as founder of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, which still owns one of her oil paintings, helping to ensure the restoration of the nearby Kenmore estate of George Washington’s sister, founder of the local garden club, and when she had time painting.

Melchers died at Belmont in 1932. Corinne remained there another 23 years – until her own death in 1955, promoting her husband’s work and cultivating his reputation along with her roses and tulips. Her last act of devotion to her husband’s memory was to turn the Belmont estate which together they had enhanced with gardens, nature trails to the state of Virginia. The home is filled with an eclectic mix of antiques and decorative items they collected. Though Melchers didn’t allow his own art to hang in the house during his lifetime, several of his works are now on display. Because Corinne meticulously kept everything as it was when they both lived together you can see the life that she and the man she called ‘my artist’ lived.

Melchers was not only a gifted painter whose works appear in many of the finest museums in the United States, he gave his time to the development of the National Gallery of Art in DC. In recognition of his services to the larger art community, the Gari Melchers Memorial Medal was named in his honor. I leave wondering if he’d be dismayed at his position in the history of art. Surely, he died thinking his art would have a lasting impact, that his would be a household name. But, the museum says they are seeing a resurgence of interest… so maybe his time is yet to come? Maybe all our better days are still ahead. When I think that way, I can’t wait for the next bend in the road. Especially if it brings us together again.

Be Well,
John