Art collectors James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin of Richmond, Virginia, have pledged to bequeath their collection of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American art to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

The collection, which comprises about one hundred nineteenth- and twentieth-century American oil paintings, watercolors, pastels, and sculptures, is currently valued at about $100 million and is, according to VMFA director Michael Brand, "one of the most important American art collections still in private hands." Included in the bequest are works by George Bellows, Mary Cassatt, Martin Johnson Heade, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, and James McNeill Whistler. In addition, the McGlothlins have pledged $10 million for an endowment for the museum, income from which will support research, conservation, exhibitions, and acquisitions.

"We have spent the last decade immersed in the world of American art, never suspecting early on that our desire to learn and appreciate this legacy could result in so meaningful a commitment to Virginia," said James McGlothlin, who is the chairman and CEO of the United Company of Bristol, a conglomerate involved in financial services, oil and gas, industrial supply distribution, and golf courses. "Fran and I envision a long and creative relationship with the museum's leadership, which in recent years has shown a tremendous level of artistic initiative."