The Daywood Collection at the Huntington Museum of Art comprises 283 exceptional works of American and European art, including masterpieces by renowned artists such as Frank Weston Benson, Emil Carlsen, Frederick Childe Hassam, Robert Henri, John Henry Twachtman, Andrew Wyeth, and many others.

This collection of drawings, paintings, prints, and sculpture is the legacy of two West Virginians: Arthur Spencer Dayton (1887-1948) and Ruth Woods Dayton (1894-1978). The couple, originally from Philippi, West Virginia, moved to Charleston, West Virginia, in 1923. There they became community leaders and active participants in the culture of the capital city. Between 1916 and 1965, they assembled a remarkable art collection focused on American artists of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century, particularly those working in an impressionist or realist style.

The Daytons believed strongly in the power of art to uplift and bring peace during troubled times. They were also deeply committed to improving the quality of life for the citizens of this state. Following Arthur’s death in 1948, Ruth established a non-profit gallery in Lewisburg, West Virginia, called The Daywood Gallery, a combination of Arthur’s surname, Dayton, and her maiden name, Woods. There the collection was displayed until, in 1967, Ruth Dayton entrusted it to the Huntington Museum of Art, to be shared with the people of West Virginia and the world.

Selections from The Daywood Collection are now exhibited year-round, on a rotating basis, making this perennially popular collection more available to more visitors than ever before.

This exhibit is presented with support from The Isabelle Gwynn and Robert Daine Exhibition Endowment.

This project is supported with financial assistance from the West Virginia Department of Tourism and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval of the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.