As you make your way through the museum’s palatial main entry way, your eyes settle upon a massive, yet intricate, 16-panel piece spanning 8 feet x 32 feet titled “Art History Is Not Linear.” Ryan McGinness, a New York City based artist (and Virginia Beach native), was commissioned to create a piece of work for the museum’s entrance. Using the Virginia Museum of Fine Art’s permanent collection as a source of inspiration, McGinness created a remarkable piece that has drawn inspiration from all corners of art history. And yet, however impressive this piece may be, it simply serves as a preview of what the museum has in store for its visitors.

After several years of remodeling and construction the VMFA re-opened its doors in May to an eager and anxious public. The massive expansion effort was initially spearheaded in 2001 by former museum director Michael Brand and coaxed to fruition by his replacement, current director Alex Nyerges. Upon completion, the VMFA has become the 10th largest comprehensive museum in the United States. Boasting a collection that includes more than 22,000 pieces of art, the museum has finally completed a project that will provide the VMFA the space it needs to raise its national profile.

The museum’s history can be traced back to 1919 and its very first donation, courtesy of John Barton Payne. As the years passed, the VMFA’s tradition of extraordinary donors began to take shape, as Richmond’s elite began to play bigger roles in the development of the VMFA. Despite being a museum that focused on enriching the Richmond community, many felt the old VMFA had fostered an environment that was at times unwelcoming. And while that reputation may not have been deserved, it didn’t help to attract new visitors to the museum.

So as the VMFA prepared for its fifth major expansion in 75 years—and the first since 1985—it was imperative the right choices were made to propel the VMFA into the future. As such, the museum embarked on an international search that resulted in the selection of London-based architect Rick Mather. The American-born, London-based Mather (alongside the local support of Richmond’s SMBW Architects) was tasked with providing more space for the museum’s growing collection, while also modernizing the stodgy Richmond landmark and improving upon the navigational flow of the existing structure.

Estimated at $204 million, Mather’s transformation of the museum appears to have been a resounding success. The expansion has provided the VMFA with an extra 165,000 square feet of space, 50% more gallery space, the McGlothlin Wing, and an atrium that can only be described as awe-inspiring. The Louise B. and J. Harwood Cochrane Atrium bridges the McGlothlin Wing to the museum’s two previously existing wings and leads into the library, cafe, and museum shop. Described as the heart and soul of the new Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the atrium features a glass wall that overlooks the Boulevard and can lay claim to being the largest unsupported glass wall in the country, measuring 70 feet by 40 feet.

Similarly, the McGlothlin Wing has also garnered Mather significant attention since the opening. Washington Post writer, Philip Kennicott, went so far as to describe the new wing as an “axis of Zen in the midst of a highly artificial experience.” The wing, named after principal donors James and Frances McGlothlin, cost an estimated $157 million and will enable the VMFA to pursue exhibitions that would have been unattainable in years past.

In an effort to utilize the limited space already available, Mather replaced the former parking lot with the three-and-a-half acre E. Claiborne & Lora Robins Sculpture Garden. The garden will feature a dozen of the VMFA’s permanent sculpture pieces in addition to those acquired on loan. And in addition to its vast display capabilities, the garden serves an alternate function as it also provides cover for the new parking deck tucked beneath it’s terraced, sloping lawn.

And yet, despite the amazing transformation undertaken, the greatest recruiting tool the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has is still its vast and impressive collection of art from every major culture and spanning over 5,000 years. Aside from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé objects—which is said to be the largest public collection of Fabergé eggs outside of Russia—the museum is also home to Paul Mellon’s extensive collection of British Sporting Art, French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists; Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Modern and Contemporary American art donated by Sydney and Frances Lewis; The Jerome and Rita Gans Collection of English Silver; and one of the nation’s most comprehensive holdings of South Asian, African, and Himalayan Art.

While its collection may not rival those found in Paris, Madrid and New York, the fact remains that the VMFA is one of America’s best museums. And with its recent transformation, it’s only a matter of time before the Virginia Museum of Fine Art plants itself firmly on the radar of the nation’s art lovers.