By Tom Rosenthal
William J. “Bill” Martin, the longtime director of Richmond’s Valentine Museum, passed away on December 28, 2025. A close friend to Virginia Humanities — and to so many of us who had the privilege of working alongside him — Bill grew the Valentine into a space to hold honest conversations about the city’s past and collectively envision its future. Tom Rosenthal, former board chair of the Valentine, offers this remembrance of Bill and his lasting impact on Richmond.
Bill Martin was not just a student of history — he believed history could help shape opinions and policies to improve our society. Without lecturing, he used history to help people reach their own conclusions. Bill loved taking people on tours of neighborhoods, buildings, parks, and cemeteries to explain how the past shaped present-day Richmond.
Throughout his life, Bill fought for the inclusion of all people in the Richmond narrative. He never sought to diminish any account but instead worked to expand the discussion to include different ways of interpreting stories and how they affect us today.
Bill led the Valentine Museum with a measured, steady hand throughout his 32 years of leadership. He met challenge after challenge, pulling the museum back from financial collapse and transforming it from a stodgy collection of artifacts into a thought-provoking, pivotal cultural institution for the city.
The Valentine became an essential place for the community to learn and discuss cultural issues, and Bill was a trusted, skillful moderator of those discussions. He led the difficult transition of the Edward Valentine sculpture studio from a simple appreciation of the artist’s talents to an honest examination of how the collection reflected the tenets of the Lost Cause. That renovation exemplified Bill’s remarkable ability to help us all move forward together.
