Encountering Eddie Murphy, Oprah Winfrey and Denzel Washington at the Hampton University Museum is unlikely.
Yet, in the Hampton Legacy gallery, the presence of the three stars is hard to miss. It’s as if the award-winning comedian, legendary talk show host and Oscar-winning actor are surveying the art and artifacts in the newly renovated museum.
Hampton University Museum reopened recently after a yearlong closure.
Museum director Vanessa Thaxton-Ward said the building hadn’t been renovated since the museum moved there in 1997 other than a small wing added in April 2024.
"This allowed us to refresh some of our permanent exhibitions," she said. "It was time."
The museum dates back to 1868 when the school founder Gen. Samuel Chapman Armstrong created the collection from family artifacts at the then Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. It is the oldest African American museum in the country and one of the oldest museums in Virginia.
Murphy, Winfrey and Washington are present through the costumes they wore in hit movies, each designed by Hampton University graduate Ruth E. Carter. The costumes are the centerpiece of the new gallery that focuses on the work of Hampton alumni and current students.
Carter fit Washington’s slender frame in a flashy red-and-white-striped zoot suit and matching hat for the 1992 film “Malcolm X.” Murphy wore traditional African attire in the 2021 sequel “Coming 2 America.” A striking blue, polka-dotted dress was one of many outfits made for Winfrey as the wife of the title character in the 2013 historical drama “Lee Daniels’ The Butler.”
“They are colorful, wonderful and really amazing,” Thaxton-Ward said.
The costumes are on long-term loan from Carter’s collection and others will replace them when they are rotated out. Carter graduated in 1982 and is the first African American to win multiple Academy Awards for costume design (“Black Panther” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”). Some of Carter’s sketches are also on display.
“People will come in and know that the suit was made specifically for Eddie Murphy,” Thaxton-Ward said, referring to an ankle-length white jacket made of cotton and silk and adorned with jewels. “Ruth Carter selected this particular piece for us based on her recollection of our African gallery and the splendid regalia we have there. It’s an awesome piece to accentuate our permanent collection.”
An eclectic assortment representing not just artwork but also the accomplishments of alumni in the military, sports and other fields surround the encased costumes. Of particular interest is a pedal-powered rickshaw from Indonesia, brought home by alumni Edward and Ellen Lively Bolling, who worked to improve the lives of rural communities in West Africa and Southeast Asia through programs developed by the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
The rickshaw had been in storage for years and the museum had it preserved for display. The Bollings gave children rides in it at community gatherings to promote cross-cultural understanding.
"We want to let people know about that part of Hampton’s history,” Thaxton-Ward said.
Step into the gallery featuring two centuries of African American art. The far end is visually dominated by a nearly life-sized black-and-white photograph of an enormous man in flowing white robes. He cradles a tiny child in the crook of his elbow. The happy baby looks like a doll or a toy against the heft of the man.
The photo, “Giant Man and Daughter,” was taken in Mali about 75 years ago and is part of a collection assembled by Hampton graduate Kennell A. Jackson, a renowned scholar on African art and culture.
That photograph and several other works provide a more contemporary element to the historical pieces in the gallery, reflecting cultural developments in Africa at the time of the modern Civil Rights Movement in the United States.
In the “200 Years of African American Fine Art” gallery, Thaxton-Ward said, “People will find some of their old friends. But they will also be excited to see some new pieces on display as well.”
The Sankofa Gallery, featuring a collection of modern African art put together with the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, also has several pieces on display for the first time.
Initially, Armstrong opened “curiosity rooms” so newly freed African Americans could learn about African and other cultures. The museum has more than 10,000 objects in its collection and more than 12,000 feet of exhibition space.
"Today, people in our community and our region have the opportunity to visit a very old and well-established collection,” Thaxton-Ward said.
The Hampton University Museum, at 14 Frissell Ave., is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.
