Enfilade

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From the Chrysler Museum:

The Willoughby-Baylor House, the long-time home of the Norfolk History Museum, reopens August 16 after a long closure for structural renovations and a complete re-imagination of the displays and artifacts related to the history and art of one of America’s original heritage port cities.

The ground floor greets visitors with a new exhibition, Democratic Designs: American Folk Paintings from the Chrysler Museum. “This exhibition is our largest display of American folk art in more than three decades,” said Crawford Alexander Mann III, the Brock Curator of American Art at the Chrysler Museum. “Few museums surpass the Chrysler’s depth in this field, and it’s time to put our masterpieces in the spotlight.”

Jeremiah Andrews, Covered Sugar Bowl, silver, ca. 1791 (Chrysler Museum)

On the second floor you’ll find The Norfolk Rooms. This suite of Norfolk-made art and artifacts includes period paintings, furniture, and silver. Highlights includes Cephas Thompson’s stately portrait of Norfolk attorney John Nivison, painted in 1812, and a delicately engraved silver sugar bowl by Jeremiah Andrews created around 1791. “Andrews and other local silversmiths often embossed their wares with both their initials and the word Norfolk, building name recognition for this city as a source of fine craftsmanship,” said Mann. “We’ve built new cases to show off more of their work, and we will switch these displays periodically.”

The Willoughby-Baylor House is a two-story brick townhouse built in 1794 by Captain William Willoughby, a descendent of one of Norfolk’s founding families. After falling into disrepair, it was saved from demolition and opened as a house museum in 1970. A complete look at the history of the Willoughby-Baylor House is available here.