OPENING RECEPTION: Friday, September 7th, 7-9pm

Developed through archival research by Sarah Kleinman, Art History PhD candidate at VCU, The Wonder of Life provides an unprecedented look at Pollak’s career, highlighting the artist’s groundbreaking efforts to establish a world-class art school and to transcend barriers in the art world. The timeline exhibition traces the evolution of Pollak’s art alongside the growth of Richmond’s art scene, using archival materials and ephemera to contextualize her innumerable contributions to the fine arts, academia, and Richmond’s cultural life.

As the founding faculty member of the Art Department at VCU, Pollak served as its first faculty chairperson from 1942 to 1950. After teaching for forty-one years, she retired from VCU and in 1968 and in 1971, the VCU School of the Arts building was named the Theresa Pollak Building in her honor. She exhibited in major venues across the nation, including the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; the Whitney Museum of American Art and Rockefeller Center in New York; and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She received fellowships for her work from the Tiffany Foundation in Oyster Bay, Long Island; the Carnegie Fellowship for study at the Fogg Museum, Harvard University; and the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts in Provincetown, Massachusetts.