Then & Now: Dementi Studio Photographs of the University of Richmond January 21 to May 6, 2005 Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art and Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums On January 21, the University of Richmond Museums will open the exhibition Then & Now: Dementi Studio Photographs of the University of Richmond, which will be on view concurrently at the Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art and Print Study Center through May 6. Organized as part of the University of Richmond’s 175th anniversary celebration, Then & Now pairs historical photographs with contemporary scenes of the campus and its community. Some of the featured images in the exhibit illustrate the day that Dr. Garnett Ryland, professor of chemistry, led the commencement procession across campus in 1928, the celebration of May Day, 1940 with a production in the Jenkins Greek Theatre, and the sharing of a wintry moment with skaters on Westhampton Lake in 1963.
Each photograph from the past is accompanied by a contemporary image of the campus community. For example, the 1892 Richmond College football team is displayed next to a photograph of the University’s Men’s Basketball team of 2004-2005. A 1950 photograph of students visiting a professional print shop to study typesetting corresponds with an image of a current undergraduate student and professor working on a print in the Printmaking Studio of the Visual Arts Building, George M. Modlin Center for the Arts. These juxtapositions are not always parallel, rather they highlight how the University’s traditions and campus life have evolved and changed over time. Founded in 1924 by Anthony L. Dementi, Dementi Studio has been capturing photographic images of the University of Richmond for nearly half of the 175 years being celebrated. Scenes of the campus architecture and student life in the Dementi collection of negatives date to the beginnings of the company, and the archives they have acquired go back even further. During the 1940s and 1950s, Dementi Studio was essentially the University’s exclusive photographer. Frank Dementi served as the University’s public relations photographer in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Wayne Dementi attended Richmond College and the School of Business Administration during the mid-1960s and served as campus photographer for The Collegian. The members of the Dementi Family of Photographers have captured the history of the University throughout the years and are an important part of the anniversary celebration. The University of Richmond has developed out of its modest beginnings in 1830 as a Baptist seminary in Powhatan County, Virginia, into one of the leading liberal arts universities in the country. Today, the University is uniquely positioned to offer its students an unparalleled experience, distinguished by its discovery-based curriculum, abundant opportunities for student research, and state-of-the-art resources and facilities. In the coming years, the focus will be upon providing the students access to faculty who are both stellar teachers and renowned scholars, to an array of innovative interdisciplinary learning opportunities, and to a campus environment second to none. For more information about the University’s 175th anniversary and related events, visit the website http://175.richmond.edu/ or contact Brian Eckert, Director of Media and Public Relations, bekert@richmond.edu or 804-287-6659. Then and Now is sponsored by First Community Bank. With a history almost as long as the University of Richmond’s history, First Community Bancshares values the opportunity to share in the University’s 175th Anniversary celebration and to sponsoring programs that are committed to the promotion of arts and culture within the communities it serves. Admission to the University of Richmond Museums is free and open to the public.