Our speaker October 10, 2023 was Erik Neal, PhD (center), the  Director of the Chrysler Museum of Art. Erik came to the Chrysler in 2014 and has helped expand the exhibition program, which includes loaning artwork to major museums around the globe.

The Chrysler Museum of Art started as Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences in 1933 and things really changed when Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. (son of the founder of the Chrysler Corporation) made a transformational gift in 1971 of more than 7,000 works of art. The Norfolk museum was renamed in his honor.

Mr. Chrysler’s collection included very fine works from a diverse range of art works – Old Masters, Modern Art, Impressionist Art, Sculptures, Glass, and 19th Century Art among others. The Chrysler Museum of Art now holds over 32,000 works of art, including approximately two-thirds from the collection of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

In recent news, objects from the Macon and Joan Brock collection of American Art will be on exhibit December 8, 2023 to March 10, 2024. This exhibit includes 45 paintings, pastels, watercolors and prints showcasing one of the most significant collections of American art assembled in the 21st century. The gift by Macon and Joan Brock of the Macon and Joan Brock Collection of American Art to the Chrysler represents the most transformative addition to the institution’s collection since Walter P. Chrysler’s foundational gift more than 50 years ago.

Also in the works is a major expansion of the Chrysler Museum’s glass studio that is under construction will more than double its size.

The Meeting

Bob Heely and Pam Tubbs led the music with “Shine on Harvest Moon” and the first verse of “America” that we all know.

Marty Raiss gave the invocation praying for peace considering the recent outbreak of conflict in the Mideast and we observed a moment of silence for all those suffering over there.

Mark Shaw gave the visitation report and reported that George Raiss is continuing to do better and Bill Gresham’s shoulder injury is doing better. He was happy to see Bill at the meeting.

Club Business

• President Jeff Wells welcomed everyone and thanked those that came out for the book labeling project at MacArthur Mall. All 13,500 books were labeled and ae being delivered by Rotarians to all Norfolk Public Schools elementary schools for an all-student reading project.

Fines and Happy Bucks

• Lois Kercher reported car troubles, but she was pleased to report she now had her car back.

• Sigur Whitaker reported that after attending a book signing in Hershey, Pennsylvania she was

  lucky to have no traffic delays coming back through the D.C. area.

• Mary Insley reported she was glad to return safely from a trip.

• Peter Schmidt was pleased to report he is now officially the permanent President and CEO of

  Norfolk Botanical Garden.

• Kelly Stefanko was pleased to report that her parents safely returned from the Holy Land just

  before the outbreak of recent hostilities.