VCU professor unveils rendition of "Richmond view" in London exhibit

By Malorie Burkett

Camden Whitehead, associate director of VCU's Art Foundation program, is only one of two American artists whose paintings will appear this week in a show that will commemorate the 100th anniversary of an act of parliament that preserved the view of the Thames River from Richmond Hill in England.

The view of the Thames in England is what inspired William Byrd, the founder of Richmond, Va., to give the city its name after seeing a similar view of the James River from Libby Hill.

Whitehead, along with artist Matthew Robins, of New Kent County, Va., each produced two paintings for "The View," an exhibit that is being launched at Walterstones, a well-known British bookstore. The pair traveled to England last fall to document the site upon the Thames and completed their paintings in February.

Whitehead and Robins first became involved with the project last fall when Calder Loth, senior architectural historian at the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and Fred Hauptfuhrer, curator of the show, asked them to participate in the project as part of a "sister cities" relationship between Richmond, Va., and Richmond, England.

"The View" will include the works of over 30 prominent British artists each showing their interpretation of the famous view of the Thames from Richmond Hill. On May 5, "The View" will move to Richmond Council's Orleans House Gallery of England, where it will remain for nine weeks.

A Richmond resident, Whitehead received his Bachelor of Arts degree in art from Averett College in Danville, Va. and his Master of Arts in architecture from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. For more information and to view paintings, visit http://matttrobins.com/richmond_rivers_1.html.