Exterior of Valentine’s Studio

This twenty-two by fifty-six-foot former carriage house on East Leigh Street in Richmond served as a studio for sculptor Edward Virginius Valentine beginning in 1871. Originally constructed around 1836 as a stable, carriage, and bath house, the structure needed some renovations before Valentine could use it for his work. Valentine had a contractor install two skylights and large windows on the north wall to create a well-lit interior space. The studio worked well for Valentine until the late 1880s, when his popularity and number of commissions had increased to such an extent that he outgrew the space. In September of 1889 he began construction of a larger building behind the Leigh Street studio which became known as the Annex. Valentine continued to use his old studio as a place to receive guests, and he stored some of his smaller works, busts, and models in the structure.

In the 1930s, when Valentine’s original studio was at risk of being demolished by the city, a group called Friends of the Valentine Museum acquired and relocated the structure to the backyard of The Valentine museum’s property at 1015 East Clay Street. The museum has used the space for storage, for events, and as a reinterpreted exhibit of what the studio would have looked like in Valentine’s time.