Breaking Into Society

by Dr. Colleen Yarger, George L. Ohrstrom, Jr. Curator of Library Collections On April 12, the National Sporting Library & Museum (NSLM) unveiled the exhibition, Honoring the Point: The Gwynne McDevitt Sporting Dog Collection. Comprising 84 works of art, including: paintings, sculpture, watercolors, prints, and even a weathervane, McDevitt’s collection is the largest bequest ever […]

Wear Your Jacket!

By Dr. Colleen Yarger, George L. Ohrstrom, Jr. Curator of Library Collections “Wear your jacket!” I’ll be completely honest: I have a significant amount of experience with this statement. First as a child impervious to the cold; and now as a parent delivering this line—seemingly, ad nauseum—to my own temperature-resilient children. My “obsession” with jackets […]

Beagles at Tiffany’s

By Monica Soto, Digitization Technician The National Sporting Library & Museum (NLSM) recently received a fantastic archival gift from Nina Fout on behalf of the National Beagle Club of America (NBCA). The NSLM is now the steward of the NBCA archives. This collection contains more than a dozen items including meeting minutes, field trial records, […]

It’s Okay to Laugh

By Megan Lentz, Digitization Technician Have you ever had a job where every day is a new learning experience? I am lucky enough to have such a job. As a Digitization Technician for the National Sporting Library & Museum (NSLM), I get to work with books housed in our F. Ambrose Clark Rare Book Room […]

The Ballad of Mac and Zach

It is that time of year: commence with the re-hangs! This time, though, the permanent collection has been displayed in a chronological approach rather than thematic. Not to worry, many favorites are still on view, but we like (and need!) to shake things up a bit occasionally. It is what keeps people coming back and […]

Remembering Clarice Smith

There are people you meet in your life who change you. Clarice Smith was one of those people. We first crossed paths at the Piedmont Environmental Council 40th Anniversary Benefit Art Show, which we hosted in the National Sporting Library & Museum (NSLM)’s Founders’ Room in 2012. I hung the eclectic exhibition of numerous artists […]

An Hipponomie, or, the Vineyard of Horsemanship

by Colleen Yarger, George L. Ohrstrom, Jr. Curator of Library Collections It gives me great delight to dedicate this blog to a new addition to the F. Ambrose Clark Rare Book Room: Michael Baret’s 1618 text, An Hipponomie, or, the Vineyard of Horsemanship: Divided into Three Bookes. [1] Baret’s text is exceedingly rare—it is a […]

Last Chance! “Survival of the Fittest” Exhibition

“I am disappointed that I didn’t get a chance to see the exhibition before it closed,” is a sentiment I hear more often than I would like to admit. So this is your friendly reminder that in just a few weeks, on January 14, 2024, one of the best exhibitions we have ever had closes […]

Introducing: The Gwynne McDevitt Collection

Last spring, the National Sporting Library & Museum (NSLM) was the recipient of an extremely generous bequest by Gwynne McDevitt. Over 80 paintings, works on paper, sculptures, and a weathervane by a range of artists were received. Our cup runneth over! You may recall that Romantic Bronzes from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, which […]

Grapes, Whistlejacket, and Rooster

By Colleen Yarger, George L. Ohrstrom, Jr. Curator of Library Collections Have you ever read an account—that was stated as being true—but, wondered if the truth had been stretched for storytelling purposes? I have. Today, I write because I recently witnessed something that significantly diminished my skepticism about the power of trompe l’oeil (the ability […]