Marian Van Landingham, a former Virginia state delegate, artist and founder of the Torpedo Factory Art Center, died Saturday (April 4). She was 88 years old.
Van Landingham’s cause of death was not disclosed, and funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.
Leaders across Alexandria are remembering Van Landingham for her work in creating the Torpedo Factory and her service in the state legislature, where she represented Virginia’s 45th House District as a Democrat from 1982 to 2006.
Mayor Alyia Gaskins said she had an opportunity to visit Van Landingham at her home last year.
“I remember sitting in her living room as she squeezed my hand and told me about the various works of art on the wall, several of which were her own,” Gaskins told ALXnow. “I left so inspired by her vision, creativity and ability to see possibilities that few could ever dream of and see the potential in spaces that, to many, were just ordinary. Her legacy will be felt for generations.”
Former Mayor Justin Wilson said on social media that Van Landingham created a lasting legacy.
“Her brand of civility in leadership is sadly rare, but deeply missed,” Wilson said. “Alexandria will miss Marian and we mourn the loss of a friend.”
Former Mayor Allison Silberberg wrote on Facebook that Van Landingham’s death is a tremendous loss for the city.
“A talented artist, Marian was a visionary who imagined and created our Torpedo Factory, which became not only a primary anchor and catalyst in Old Town, but also became world-renowned,” Silberberg said. “It is up to all of us to protect this national treasure for generations to come.”
The Alexandria Democratic Committee issued a statement following news of Van Landingham’s death.
“Marian was an artist, community builder, and Democratic member of the Virginia House of Delegates for 24 years,” the ADC said on Facebook. “She will be missed and remembered with love and respect by so many in our community.”
A native of Albany, Georgia, Van Landingham was born Sept. 10, 1937. Her father was a director with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and she and her family moved across the state throughout her childhood. She earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Emory University, and moved to Shirlington in 1967, where she worked at the National Air Pollution Agency, and then as a speechwriter for the late Rep. Phillip M. Landrum (D-GA), according to her Living Legends of Alexandria biography.
In 1973, Van Landingham was president of The Art League, which was about to lose its lease at 315 Cameron Street. When the Torpedo Factory — a former munitions factory during World War II that had since become a federal government storage facility — was mentioned as a possible new home for artists, Van Landingham jumped at the opportunity.
“At the first block of King Street in that waterfront area, there was nothing except, I think, one restaurant on the corner of King, that had been there forever,” Van Landingham said in a 2024 interview. “It was astounding, you know, that it really was there. The dock was pretty rotten. But the only thing that had been active there was a school rowing facility.”
The city helped refurbish the property, and in 1974, the Torpedo Factory Art Center opened to the public. Van Landingham became its first director, and that same year she was named Washingtonian of the Year by Washingtonian magazine.
In 1980, Van Landingham founded the organization that turned into Volunteer Alexandria. In 1999, she wrote “On Target, Stories of the Torpedo Factory Art Center’s First 25 Years.”
“About every three days (during the original cleanup), I went to Duron Paint and bought about 15 gallons of antique white,” Van Landingham recalled, according to Living Legends of Alexandria. “Everything was dirty government green with rat footprints.”
The Torpedo Factory welcomes an estimated 500,000 visitors annually, according to its website.
