RICHMOND, VA.- The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has published a revised and expanded version of "Selections from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts," spotlighting 150 entries on art works selected by the museum's curators and staff.

The 376-page book includes 190 color illustrations and is available in both hard- and soft-bound versions in the museum shop, on-line at www.vmfa.museum, or by telephoning (800) 943-VMFA (8632). The clothbound version is $45, and the soft-cover version is $30.

Written by VMFA's Dr. Anne B. Barriault, an art historian, with Dr. Kay M. Davidson, a VMFA writer and research assistant, entries in the new "Selections" volume span more than 5,000 years and represent a significant array of cultures. The book, designed by VMFA's Sarah Lavicka, showcases masterworks from ancient Mediterranean and American art; Asian and African art; European paintings; Byzantine and Western medieval sculpture and decorative arts; 19th- and 20th-century European and American sculpture; late-19th- and early-20th-century decorative arts; and Modern and Contemporary art.

"For visitors or art connoisseurs, this stunning edition honors the magnificent collections at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and enfolds the senses with sheer beauty and substance," says Alex Nyerges, VMFA's director.

The book's sumptuous photographs are by VMFA's master fine-arts photographer Katherine Wetzel with the assistance of VMFA photographer Travis Fullerton.

The cover image for "Selections" is Impressionist Édouard Manet's 1868 oil-on-canvas "On the Beach, Boulogne-sur-Mer," and the back cover image is of the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company's punch bowl with three ladles, made of favrile glass and gilded silver. The work was the star Art Nouveau attraction at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle.

The publication of the new "Selections" was made possible by a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Smith of Arlington, Va. The smaller first edition, published in 1997, was supported by The Council of VMFA through proceeds from the 1995 "Fine Arts & Flowers" exhibition and a grant from The Council Travel Fund.

The VMFA Shop is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. VMFA is at 200 N. Boulevard.