2026 SESSION

ENROLLED

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 157

Commending the Taubman Museum of Art.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 2, 2026

Agreed to by the Senate, March 5, 2026

WHEREAS, for 75 years, the Taubman Museum of Art has promoted American art and artists, provided opportunities for education and recreation, and enhanced cultural life in the Roanoke Valley; and

WHEREAS, the Taubman Museum of Art traces its roots to the late 1940s, when the Roanoke Chapter of the American Association of University Women requested a major exhibition from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, which ultimately led to the establishment of the Roanoke Fine Arts Center in 1951; and

WHEREAS, over the years, the Roanoke Fine Arts Center expanded its mission and its collections, becoming known as the Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts, then the Art Museum of Western Virginia; and

WHEREAS, in 2008, the institution rebranded as the Taubman Museum of Art, named for a former United States ambassador to Romania, Nicholas F. Taubman, who generously supported the construction of a new building in downtown Roanoke designed by American architect Randall Stout; and

WHEREAS, the Taubman Museum of Art's building reflects the history and character of the Roanoke region with a 77-foot glass peak that recalls the point of the Roanoke Star and an undulating roofline reminiscent of the Blue Ridge Mountains; and

WHEREAS, with 11 galleries featuring more than 2,000 individual pieces in its permanent collection, the Taubman Museum of Art offers fine examples of American art, contemporary art, folk art, and regional art, including works by Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins, John Singer Sargent, Purvis Young, Petah Coyne, and John Cage; and

WHEREAS, the Taubman Museum of Art also originates 15 to 20 exhibitions every year, highlighting artists such as Kehinde Wiley, John James Audubon, Sally Mann, and Norman Rockwell; and

WHEREAS, through generous support from corporate donors and community partners, the Taubman Museum of Art has provided free admission to all visitors since 2012; and

WHEREAS, the Taubman Museum of Art has upheld high professional standards and accountability, demonstrated continued institutional improvement, and maintained an overall commitment to excellence in service to the members of the Roanoke community; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend the Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke on the occasion of its 75th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Taubman Museum of Art as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for the museum's legacy of contributions to cultural life in Roanoke.