William King Museum of Art adding space dedicated to wildlife art

ABINGDON, Va. (WJHL) — The William King Museum of Art (WKMA) held a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday for its expansion dedicated to wildlife art.

The 10,000-square-foot wing addition will house the Worrell Collection of Animal Art. The collection is made up of approximately 170 wildlife paintings and sculptures.

“The collection itself is made up of almost 170 pieces,” said Betsy King, the director of the museum. “Most of them are paintings, but there are about 25 small sculptures that will be in the gallery as well as 12, these are wonderful and fascinating, 12 large sculptures out on the grounds.”

The construction project will include a world-class gallery for the collection, a welcome gallery for regional artwork, storage for the museum’s art collection, an accessible entrance, a lobby, a café and a sculpture garden.

“It will also have a pollinator garden,” King said. “We will have a sensory garden for calming. We will have a whole network of hiking trails and walking trails.”

The decision to move the Worrell Collection from Charlottesville to the WKMA will help the museum use art and nature in education initiatives for all ages.

“We are calling this whole thing, we refer to it as our gift to the region, this community park and museum that we have here,” King said.

According to King, the collection includes artwork from renowned names in the animal art world. She said there are only four or five collections like the Worrell Collection in the world.

The project is set to be complete by late 2025, according to the WMKA.

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