Gari Melchers Home and Studio

Gari Melchers Home & Studio at Belmont is one of Stafford County, Virginia's most popular attractions.  The 18th-century Belmont estate was the home and studio of prominent portraitist and American Impressionist painter Gari Melchers (1860-1932) from 1916 until his death. The Georgian mansion, outbuildings and formal gardens were modified and expanded to serve as an elegant country retreat for the artist and his wife, who had left their longtime European home at the outbreak of WWI. Melchers was one of the most respected artists of his generation, accomplished as a prominent portraitist and American Impressionist landscape artist. Upon Mrs. Melchers' death in 1955, the property and all its contents were deeded to the Commonwealth of Virginia, making Belmont one of the most complete and authentic artists' homes in America. The museum consists of the artist's home, gardens and studio. The stone studio and galleries house the largest collection of Melchers' works anywhere.