
Library

Museum

Géricault, The Flemish Farrier, courtesy VMFA

Izaak Walton (1593-1683), The Compleat Angler

Coaching Event

Celebration

Afield in America exhibition
"We’re extremely grateful to our contributors and proud to provide access to international scholars and the public to learn about American field sports." – Manuel H. Johnson, Chairman of the Board.
Welcome to the National Sporting Library and Museum
The Library and Museum are located in the beautiful historic village of Middleburg, Virginia. The NSLM consists of two buildings on the same campus. The Library, built in 1999, was designed to provide facilities for book stewardship and research. It has the Forrest Read more
“It’s quite an accomplishment to create an environment that preserves historic works of art and reflects the character it seeks to protect." – Manuel H. Johnson, Chairman of the Board.
Welcome to the National Sporting Library and Museum
The Library and Museum are located in two buildings on a seven acre campus in Middleburg, Virginia. For several years, the National Sporting Library occupied a pre-Civil War house called Vine Hill. In 1999, on the same property, the Library built a carriage-style building specially Read more
The "In the Blacksmith Shop" exhibition in the Forrest E. Mars, Sr. Exhibit Hall of the Library, will run from August 16 – December 30, 2011
August 16 – December 30, 2011
Three prints depicting blacksmiths at work from the 18th and 19th centuries are the inspiration for In the Blacksmith Shop at the National Sporting Library and Museum’s Forrest E. Mars, Sr. Exhibit Hall. Rare books, horse shoes of different equine occupations and blacksmith tools show Read more
“Sporting art exhibits will draw people to our campus and they will see the depth of our organization and the way in which both the Library and the Museum work together." – Rick Stoutamyer, Executive Director.
About the National Sporting Library and Museum
The National Sporting Library and Museum, Middleburg, Virginia, is dedicated to preserving, sharing and promoting the literature, art and culture of horse and field sports. Founded as the National Sporting Library in 1954, by George L. Ohrstrom, Sr. and Alexander Mackay-Smith, the institution has Read more
"It’s important to remember our past, and it is exciting to bring the past to life. Without organizations such as NSLM and their supporters dedicated to preserving history, it would be lost.” Frolic Weymouth, President of the Four-in-Hand Club
National Sporting Library and Museum, Middleburg, Virginia, Hosts Major Coaching Event
To commemorate the opening of the Museum, the NSLM hosted a historic Coaching event during a weekend celebration October 7 - 9, 2011. There were 23 historic coaches participating in a pageant on Saturday, October 8, 10:00 a.m., at the Upperville Colt Read more
The National Sporting Library and Museum Celebrated the Opening of its New Sporting Art Museum October 7-9, 2011.
About the Celebration Weekend October 7 - 9, 2011
To commemorate the opening of the Museum, the NSLM hosted a historic Coaching event, a Gala on the Museum grounds and previews of the inaugural exhibition Afield in America during a weekend celebration October 7 - 9, 2011. Read more.
"Afield in America: 400 Years of Animal & Sporting Art," October 11, 2011 through January 14, 2012.
Cover image of the catalog for the exhibition: William Tylee Ranney, "On the Wing," 1850. Private Collection.
About the Exhibition Afield in America
October 11, 2011 through January 14, 2012
The inaugural exhibition for the new Museum is Afield in America: 400 Years of Animal & Sporting Art , curated by F. Turner Reuter, Jr., and based on his book Animal and Sporting Artists in America which was published Read more
Productive angling is accomplished through learning, either through first hand experiences or through reading the knowledge of others. The Library is the home of a priceless collection of books on fishing with a rod, and most of the historical texts describe the sport of fly-fishing, dating as early as Izaak Walton’s first edition of The Compleat Angler, 1653. Most frequently represented are the legendary streams of England and North America.
Alken
Onassis and Arundel by Lees
Fore-edge
Fox Hunting
Gees Hunting Diary
George Washington
Joseph Thomas
Pack
SA Edwards FoxBooks on foxhunting are among the most popular segments of the Library’s collection, which is fitting in that the Library is located in one of the cradles of the sport in North America. The Library holds a comprehensive collection on British and North American foxhunting and beagling, from Peter Beckford’s 1781 Thoughts on Fox and Hare Hunting, to Ben Hardaway’s Never Outfoxed.
From the first printed book on horsemanship, Federico Grisone’s GliOrdini di Cavalcare (1550), remarkably, it took Grisone’s work only ten years to find its way into English in an abridged translation, The Art of Riding, by Thomas Blundevile, Queen Elizabeth’s Master of the Horse. The Library holds all of the key 16th through 21st century western European and American literature on the art of horsemanship.
Sport shooting on English and western European estates has been a popular country pastime since the 18th century. But the opening of the American wilderness two centuries ago fostered a whole new realm of sporting opportunities. The Library’s collection contains many treasures describing firearms, techniques, hunting reminiscences and favorite hunting grounds the world over.
Enthusiasts of equestrian and field sports love sporting art. Canvases portray favorite horses, beloved hunting dogs, and memorable days of foxhunting, racing, angling and shooting. At the National Sporting Library and Museum, connoisseurs will find an exceptional collection of books and examples of fine American, British, and French sporting paintings and sculpture, dating from the 18th century forward.
Alligator
Blueribaud
Frolics
Jay Trump
Jay Trump 2
MD Hunt Cup
St. Albans
Steeple New Slater
Steeple Water JumpThe exciting world of steeplechase comes alive at the National Sporting Library and Museum in the form of paintings, prints, and books. The Library holds an extensive collection of steeplechase literature, annuals, scrapbooks, and periodicals covering the extensive history of American and British steeplechasing from the 19th through present day ‘chases.
Insights for the pursuit of Thoroughbred racing, a game full of mystery and excitement, are found at the National Sporting Library and Museum’s collections of art and literature. The Library holds historical and contemporary books, periodicals, and stud books from all over the world dating from the 18th century forward; complemented with paintings, sculpture, and prints by the best of sporting artists.
A Research Center For Horse and Field Sports
The National Sporting Library and Museum, located in beautiful, historic Middleburg, Virginia, celebrated the opening of its Sporting Art Museum in October 2011. The Library, founded in 1954, is dedicated to preserving, promoting and sharing the literature, art and culture of equestrian and field sports and we are pleased to announce the addition of our Museum. The institution has expanded to become an important research facility and art museum with over 17,000 books and works of art in the collections. The John H. Daniels Fellowship program supports scholarship. Information is shared through exhibits, lectures, seminars, publications and special events. The NSLM is open to the public.


Museum Hours: Wednesday-Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday noon to 4 p.m.
Library Hours: Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday 1 p.m. to 4 p.m
The NSLM is closed on federal holidays.
