ROANOKE, VA - The Art Museum of Western Virginia commemorates the 400^th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement with a highlight exhibition in honor of this momentous occasion for Virginia.  Jamestown Remembered, Sectional Strife Reflected, the Future Predicted: The Many Meanings of a 19th Century Painting, a special exhibition featuring Alonzo Chappel’s Captain John Smith Saved by Pocahontas, will open on May 11 and remain on view in the Art Museum’s Bridge Gallery through December 31.  “The exhibition provides an exciting opportunity for the public to explore the cultural and historical significance of a nationally-important work of art in our collection and to celebrate Jamestown through engaging and interrelated programs for all ages,” said Georganne Bingham, executive director of the Art Museum.

Captain John Smith Saved by Pocahontas, painted as an engraving for children’s textbooks in 1865, captures the climactic moment that Pocahontas allegedly saved John Smith’s life by placing herself between Smith and his executioner before pleading with her father, Powhatan, to show Smith mercy.  It has played an important role in the study of Jamestown by historians who continue to debate the occurrence, details and motives behind the event.

The exhibition will encourage visitors to explore how accurately, or inaccurately, Chappel captures the alleged near execution of John Smith and Pocahontas’ supposed intervention by examining a map of Virginia created by John Smith as well as pages from Smith’s History of Virginia in conjunction with Chappel’s painting.  Watercolor prints of Eastern Woodland Native Americans by John White, the governor of Roanoke Island when the colonists became “lost,” and reproductions of representations of Pocahontas by other artists also are included in the exhibition.

About the Art Museum of Western Virginia
The Art Museum, located in Center in the Square on historic Market Square in downtown Roanoke, features nineteenth and twentieth century American art, decorative arts, modern and contemporary art, and works on paper, and presents exhibitions of both regional and national significance.  Tours, gallery talks, family days, special events, classes, and camps are part of the Art Museum’s regular programming.  Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Admission is $3.00 Tuesday through Saturday and free on Sundays.  The Art Museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums (AAM). For more information, visit www.artmuseumroanoke.org