The Fralin Museum of Art Announces Two Major Gifts
Charlottesville, VA… The Fralin Museum of Art at The University of Virginia celebrates two remarkable gifts that will strengthen the museum’s community impact, teaching, and curatorial practice for years to come. Arriving at a pivotal moment as UVA plans for its new Center for the Arts, these contributions underscore the museum’s vital role at the university and its vision of bringing art to all.
The position of Curator of Collections has been permanently endowed through a generous gift of $3,000,000 from Dr. Carol R. Angle. “This endowment will support critical exhibition development and collections research, strengthening the museum’s ability to serve our students, faculty, and community for generations,” stated Kristen L. Nassif, Ph.D., current Curator of Collections.
A retired physician and researcher living in Charlottesville, Dr. Angle spent 45 years at the University of Nebraska Medical Center as a pediatrician, nephrologist, and toxicologist, becoming one of the nation’s leading experts on lead poisoning. Profoundly deaf since the age of 25, she has always been interested in the visual arts.
A devoted supporter of The Fralin, Dr. Angle has served on the museum’s Advisory Board for over 20 years, including service on the museum’s Collections Committee. Her longstanding commitment to the arts at UVA includes previous endowments—the Angle Exhibition Fund and the Carol R. Angle Academic Curator position, held by M. Jordan Love, Ph.D.—making this new gift a capstone in her legacy of sustaining The Fralin’s core curatorial leadership.
The museum’s permanent collection will be enriched by six Old Master and modern works gifted by Dr. Janet D. Greenwood. During her career, Dr. Greenwood served as the President of two higher education institutions and was the co-founder of the Greenwood / Asher Executive Search Company with Dr. Betty Turner Asher. This gift of etchings features one by Pablo Picasso, three by Rembrandt van Rijn, and two by Albrecht Dürer—works she selected specifically for The Fralin to deepen teaching and learning opportunities for students and faculty. Even before the gift was formalized, this year’s University Museums Internship (UMI) cohort incorporated the works into their hands-on curatorial training, a powerful illustration of The Fralin’s mission aligning with a donor’s vision for their art collection.
“This donation has been an unexpected and entirely transformative addition to this experience. Holding a Picasso in real life and working directly with a Rembrandt has defined my arts education and truly inspired me to carry this momentum with me beyond UVA,” stated UMI student Laasya Gadiyaram. Fellow student Christian Han added, “I am deeply grateful for the trust and generosity extended to us in allowing us to take the stories and the artists' telling of them, and to add our own perspective through the process of curating an exhibition.” All these works are featured in the cohort’s exhibition which opened March 18 and is on view through May 31.
Dr. Greenwood’s connection to the university is rooted in her longtime professional friendship with the late UVA President John Casteen, who previously served as chair of The Fralin’s Advisory Board. Beyond her distinguished academic career—including her trailblazing tenure as the first female president of Longwood University—she recently endowed a professorship there in Casteen’s honor under both their names, further extending her legacy of supporting education and the arts.
About The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia
Established in 1935, the University of Virginia Art Museum became The Fralin Museum of Art in 2012 in honor of a bequest of American art and service to the University by Cynthia and W. Heywood Fralin. The museum maintains a collection of more than 14,000 works of art, including American and European painting, works on paper, and sculpture from the 15th through the 20th centuries; art from the ancient Mediterranean; Asian art; African art; and Native and ancient American art. Housed in the historic Bayly Building near the Rotunda on the landmark Charlottesville campus, The Fralin is dedicated to serving the widest possible audiences and engaging comprehensive visual education to enhance its visitors’ understanding of world cultures. Throughout the year, the museum presents a diverse selection of exhibitions, public programs, research, and events that bring the University and broader community together. Admission is free and the museum is open to all.
Media Contacts
For additional information and visual materials, Libby Mark or Heather Meltzer at Bow Bridge Communications, LLC, New York City, info@bow-bridge.com.
Image Caption
Rembrandt Van Rijn b. 1606, Leiden, Netherlands; d. 1669, Amsterdam, Netherlands. St. Jerome Reading, 1634. Etching on laid paper. Promised gift of Jan Greenwood, IL.2025.3.1.5