2026 Exhibit

“Artists Everywhere: Dwight ‘Joe’ Bell and Valley Artists”

Once again, the Augusta County Historical Society brings to life an art exhibit with a delightful twist of history, focusing on some of the more unique art that has arisen in the area through its newest exhibit: “Artists Everywhere: Dwight ‘Joe’ Bell and Valley Artists.”

Art and artists come in many forms, with different mediums and techniques. Given the same palette of colors, no two artists will come up with the same creation. And so it is with the art that you will see in this exhibit featuring the work of Joe Bell and complemented with other pieces that channel an inner vision and raw creativity rather than intensive art training.

Dwight “Joe” Bell (1918-2004) was known for his hand-carved whirligigs and simple but vibrant colored pencil drawings, many of which are on display in the new exhibit. In addition, visitors will have the opportunity to explore the art of other Valley artists, who channeled their inner creativity rather than sitting in art class, including folks such as Grandma Moses and Willy Ferguson. The former, who lived with her farm family for two decades in Augusta, became a national sensation because of her primitive folk art paintings, while the latter gained renown for his giant steel sculptures such as the watering can at Staunton’s underpass.

2025 Exhibit

“Voices from the Blue Ridge Tunnel: When Men Were Machines”

The exhibit includes historic materials compiled by Mary Lyons, who has researched and documented the lives of tunnel workers for many years. She’s provided extensive accounts by and about both the Irish and enslaved men who built the tunnel and Blue Ridge Railroad.

The central theme of much of Lyons’ work and the exhibit is that the laborers were, and still are, too easily forgotten in the public memory. To put the circumstances of the Irish laborers in context, Lyons provided copies of the Illustrated London News with scenes from Ireland’s Great Hunger, 1845–1852. 

Blue Ridge Tunnel Interactive Stories

Blue Ridge Tunnel- Enslaved Workers

Blue Ridge Tunnel- Irish Workers