During your visit to the William King Museum of Art, explore temporary and permanent collections throughout its five art galleries. Outdoors the permanent sculpture garden offers surprises around every corner.
Building History
With the generous donation left behind by William King, a man who made his fortune in the salt business and other enterprises, the Abingdon Male Academy, on whose board King served, was able to purchase the grounds where the William King Museum of Arts sits today. While the original Abingdon Male Academy was used into the 1800s, the Civil War took its toll on the school and a new brick building was constructed and used by the Abingdon Male Academy until it closed its doors in 1905. Later leased to Abingdon and the Central School District of Washington County, the school board decided to erect a new brick school building on the property resembling the original. Named William King High School in honor of William King, today the same building serves as the William King Museum of Art.
Art Galleries
Among the art museum’s three primary galleries are the World Fine Art Gallery, Contemporary Regional Gallery and Cultural Heritage Gallery. Listen, relax and learn as you explore fine world art, contemporary regional art and cultural heritage art exhibits that frequently change to offer visitors a unique experience during every visit. Boasting 24 exhibits a year are the Student Gallery and Panoramic Gallery. While the Student Gallery displays works from area schools and colleges, the Panoramic Gallery features self-curated shows by local Abingdon artists.
The O. Winston Link Collection
Don’t miss the O. Winston Link Collection, part of the William King Museum of Art’s permanent collection. Within the collection are O. Winston Link photographs that concentrate on the Norfolk and Western project and last days of the steam operation on the N&W Railway in the late 1950s. About much more than trains and rail operations, the collection offers a unique look into the history and sociology of the region.
Cultural Heritage Collection
Located on the second floor lobby are displays that feature items from the museum’s Cultural Heritage Collection. Learn about objects made by hand in Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee prior to 1940. To date over 2,000 examples of regional material culture has been recorded.
Sculpture Garden
Outdoors, the museum boasts a unique permanent collection of sculptures, many of which were originally crafted for the Blurring the Lines outdoor sculpture competition. Mariachi Band by Wayne Trapp is an abstract sculpture featuring a number of purple, yellow, turquoise and red shapes attached with rods. Little Big House by Greg Shelnutt includes steal versions of household objects in a room, from a two armed lamp with pierced lamp shades to a broom. Arrows, created by Daniel Millspaugh features six, large Native American arrowheads made of cast aluminum with long cast aluminum shafts pointed into the ground. In Anne Rowles sculpture Coat, chicken wire is used to create the shape of an oversized jacket. Tools of the Daghda by Roger Halligan is made up of concrete and steel pieces that surround a tall columnar concrete piece. Martin Payton’s Avatar is a large steel Colum. Features of Avatar include shapes at the top of the column, two arms with shapes in between that project out from the column and a tripod base with steel arms.
- The William King Museum of Art is ADA compliant. Complimentary wheelchairs are available for use throughout the art museum. You can inquire about the use of a wheelchair at the information desk on the second level of the museum.
- The use of camera and video recorders is not permitted throughout the William King Museum of Art.