Spring 2025 Issue

An Artistic Vision Comes to Life

W&M dedicates The Martha Wren Briggs Center for the Visual Arts, home of the expanded Muscarelle Museum of Art

May 31, 2025
By Jacob A. Miller ’18

Expansive gallery spaces, sweeping architectural lines, a plethora of classroom and learning spaces, and a vibrant atmosphere of students and community members alike finding their passion through art — all were made possible thanks to an individual with an eye for both the arts and the future.

A 74-year journey, from the moment Martha Wren Briggs ’55 set foot on campus as a student in 1951 to the realization of her visionary testamentary gift in 2025, culminated in the dedication of the new home for the Muscarelle Museum of Art during Charter Day this year.

The Martha Wren Briggs Center for the Visual Arts is the latest addition to the reimagined home for the performing and visual arts on William & Mary’s campus, completing the trio of buildings facing Jamestown Road in the W&M Arts Quarter. Next to the Music Arts Center and Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall, the Briggs Center has tripled the Muscarelle’s size with an additional 42,000 square feet.

The expanded museum is a state-of-the-art venue for the university community and the surrounding region to come together to experience robust academic programs and world-class exhibitions, such as the inaugural exhibition, “Michelangelo: The Genesis of the Sistine,” which brought 25 rarely displayed drawings by the artist to William & Mary. Through Aug. 18, in addition to the ongoing exhibitions, visitors can view “Founding the Alma Mater of the Nation,” a show highlighting William & Mary’s Royal Charter and the individuals who were essential in the university’s founding, with selections from the permanent collection and loans from Swem Library’s Special Collections Research Center.

The addition to the original museum, which first opened in 1983, was designed by renowned architectural firm Pelli Clarke & Partners. As evidenced in the masterful completed project, Briggs’ vision for this space was clear from the beginning.

A CLOSER LOOK: The Briggs Center includes 14 galleries to display the museum’s extensive collection and traveling exhibitions, in addition to classrooms and gathering spaces for art education and exploration. Photo Credit: Tim Sofranko

MARTHA WREN BRIGGS ’55

Briggs, who passed away in 2017, came to William & Mary in 1951 and persevered in the face of challenges related to cerebral palsy. At a time when people with physiological and communicative difficulties faced even greater barriers to thrive, she possessed a tenacity to succeed and a true depth of passion for the arts.

Her spirit of determination saw her through graduation in 1955 with a degree in art history. She went on to earn her master’s degree in art history from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University, then published multiple academic articles and became an expert on the American stained glass master Louis Comfort Tiffany. She was also a librarian and art historian, and she wrote a series of children’s books and was noted for her challenging holiday puzzles she would send to, and often stump, her friends.

Briggs spent most of her life dedicating her time, talent and treasure to advancing the arts on and off campus. Living directly across the street from the Muscarelle for many years, she kept a close eye on campus and noticed every detail. She also had a vision for the university and particularly the performing and visual arts. As a student, she enjoyed watching the “Common Glory” performance every summer at the Lake Matoaka Amphitheatre. As a result, in the early 2000s, she provided the funds to restore the venue to its former glory and the space now bears her name: the Martha Wren Briggs Amphitheatre at Lake Matoaka.

It was with that same passion for her chosen profession, the visual and fine arts, that she donated more than $30 million — the largest gift for the visual arts in William & Mary’s history — to greatly expand the museum space. Her intention from the start was to ensure there were classrooms in this new space, focused on encouraging students to love and experience art. The Briggs Center is a place where students can find their passion, like she did, at the university which pioneered the study and collection of art in our nation nearly 300 years ago.

NEW HOME, RENEWED MISSION

Established over four decades ago by the late Joseph L. Muscarelle Sr. 1927, G ’88 and Margaret Muscarelle G ’88, the central mission of the Muscarelle Museum of Art is to advance art and artists, to build a vibrant community, to promote thought-provoking dialogue and to encourage diverse and creative thinking. Through its new home in the Briggs Center, the museum has renewed vigor and greater resources to teach, display and advocate for the arts under the leadership of museum director David Brashear HON ’07.

The Martha Wren Briggs Center for the Visual Arts will serve more fully as a dynamic resource for the community, a working laboratory for the university and a platform for visiting exhibitions and the museum’s own collection.

The expansive new space features interactive technologies and a teaching center for research and engaged learning. The center has a modern event hall and gathering spaces to bring the William & Mary community together and serve as a regional center for art exploration.

Since the Muscarelle reopened on Feb. 8, thousands of visitors have already taken advantage of the exhibitions and resources now available. The core of the museum’s mission, though, just as Briggs envisioned, remains a focus on educating the next generation about the transformative power of art.