The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will temporarily close several galleries beginning May 13 as it prepares for the largest expansion and renovation project in its history, museum officials announced Monday.

Galleries housing the Lewis Collection Mid to Late 20th-Century Art and the Lewis Collection Art Deco and Art Nouveau works will be closed for the duration of the project. Artwork from those collections will travel internationally, beginning with a stop at the Auckland Art Gallery in New Zealand.

“The temporary departure of works near the construction area will ensure their continued safety and make way for the museum’s transformation to begin,” said Michael Taylor, VMFA’s chief curator and artistic director.

The museum will remain open daily during construction, which is expected to break ground in late 2025.

The expansion includes a new wing — McGlothlin Wing II — totaling approximately 173,000 square feet. It will feature galleries for American and Indigenous American art (approximately 30,000 square feet), contemporary art (approximately 12,400 square feet), African art (approximately 8,600 square feet), and a special exhibition gallery suite (approximately 12,000 square feet). The wing will also include a special events space that will seat 500 people, meeting rooms, and a café and bar.

In addition to new construction, VMFA will renovate about 45,000 square feet of existing gallery space across its 1936, 1970 and 2010 wings. Renovations will include approximately 5,500 square feet of new gallery space for photography and approximately 7,000 square feet for the Raysor Center for Works on Paper. Expanded galleries for European art from the Medieval to Impressionist periods are also planned.

VMFA’s last major expansion was in 2010, when the museum added a new wing named for its longtime American art patrons James W. and Frances Gibson McGlothlin.

Funded through public and private sources, the expansion and renovation project is expected to be completed by late 2028. Project details and timelines are subject to change. More information is available at [www.VMFA.museum](http://www.vmfa.museum).