Van Landingham Joins the Ranks of Virginia's Eight Greatest Women

Photo by John Arundel Marian Van Landingham, far left.

ALEXANDRIA, VA. - Marian Van Landingham, the founding director of Old Town's Torpedo Factory Art Center and a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1982 to 2005, has been named one of Virginia’s 2010 Women in History.

The honor, awarded by the Library of Virginia, recognizes eight women, past and present, “who have made important contributions to Virginia, the nation, and the world,” women who “saw things differently from their contemporaries, developed new approaches to old problems, served their communities, strove for excellence based on the courage of their convictions, and initiated changes in Virginia and the United States that continue to affect our lives today.”

Photo by John Arundel Van Landingham shares a lighter moment with Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA).

Van Landingham is honored for her innovative leadership in transforming the Torpedo Factory from idle and dilapidated storage space into a vibrant art facility, a professional home to hundreds of working artists over the years.
 
In the process, the center began the transformation of Alexandria’s waterfront and historic commercial district, and became the city’s leading tourist attraction. The award also recognizes her 24 years of service in the state legislature, her role in founding the Alexandria Volunteer Bureau, now Volunteer Alexandria, and her efforts in all aspects of her public service to improve human services, education, healthcare, and aid to the homeless. She is also an artist who has worked in several media, including painting, printmaking, and enamels. She maintains a studio at the Torpedo Factory Art Center.

Recognizing that Congress has designated March as National Women’s History Month, the Library of Virginia will present the awards in Richmond on March 25. The Library sponsors statewide activities that include a traveling exhibition, a poster for public display, and related learning activities tied to the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs).
 
Educators and private citizens may request copies of the 2010 Virginia Women in History poster, as well as find more information, at www.lva.virginia.gov/vawomen .

Photo by John Arundel The Torpedo Factory.

Other 2010 honorees, living and dead, are: Jean Miller Skipwith (1748–1826), a book collector, botanist and garden designer; Kate Mason Rowland (1840–1916), a writer on historical subjects including her great-great-granduncle George Mason; Mollie Holmes Adams (1881–1973), a Mattaponi native American leader also known for her feather weaving and herbal remedies; Queena Stovall (1888–1980), an artist known as “the Grandma Moses of Virginia” whose work focused on rural Virginia life; Ethel Bailey Furman (1893–1976), one of Virginia’s earliest African American woman architects; Edythe C. Harrison (1934– ), a civic leader advocating for daycare and the arts and founding The Virginia Opera Association, active participation in civic life; and Janis Martin (1940–2008), “the female Elvis,” a seminal singer and composer of rockabilly music.