Brandywine River Museum of Art

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Brandywine River Museum of Art
Brandywine River Museum of Art along the river.jpg
Brandywine River Museum of Art
Established1971
LocationU.S. Route 1
Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania
United States
Type Art
Website Brandywine River Museum

The Brandywine Museum of Art is a museum of regional and American art located on U.S. Route 1 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania on the banks of the Brandywine Creek. The museum showcases the work of Andrew Wyeth, a major American realist painter, and his family: his father N.C. Wyeth, illustrator of many children's classics, his sister Ann Wyeth McCoy, a composer and painter, and his son Jamie Wyeth, a contemporary American realist painter. [1]

Contents

History

The museum is a program of the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art. It opened in 1971 through the efforts of "Frolic" Weymouth, who also served on its board. [2]

In September 2021, the museum's lower level was flooded due to the remnants of Hurricane Ida with mechanical systems, lecture rooms, classrooms and office spaces damaged and estimates around $6 million. [3] The museum still opened for the holiday season in limited capacity later in the year. [4]

Location

The museum, sometimes referred to as the Wyeth Museum, [5] [6] is housed in a converted nineteenth century mill with a dramatic steel and glass addition overlooking the banks of the Brandywine River (also known as Brandywine Creek). The glass-wall lobby overlooks the river and rolling countryside that inspired the Brandywine School earlier in the early 20th century. [2]

The museum also owns and operates tours of three nearby National Historic Landmarks: the N. C. Wyeth House and Studio, [7] the Kuerner Farm, [8] inspiration for nearly 1,000 works of art by Andrew Wyeth for more than 70 years, and the Andrew Wyeth Studio, [9] where the artist painted from 1940 until just before his death. The building also served as his home; he and his wife Betsy moved in as newlyweds and lived here until the early 1960s, raising their two sons. Outside the museum are beautifully maintained wildflower and native plant gardens. [10]

Contents

The museum's permanent collection features American illustration, still life works, and landscape painting by Jasper Francis Cropsey, Harvey Dunn, Peter Hurd, Maxfield Parrish, Howard Pyle, William Trost Richards, and Jessie Willcox Smith. [11] It is also known for the collection and display of O-gauge model trains that have been on display since about 1972 and includes about 2,000 feet of track and more than 1,000 pieces. The museum has also put on a whimsical Critter ornament display and sale since 1971, with animal ornaments created with only natural materials; some were displayed at the White House in 1984. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

Henriette Wyeth Hurd was an American artist noted for her portraits and still life paintings. The eldest daughter of illustrator N.C. Wyeth, she studied painting with her father and brother Andrew Wyeth at their home and studio in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Wyeth</span> American painter (1917–2009)

Andrew Newell Wyeth was an American visual artist, primarily a realist painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">N. C. Wyeth</span> American illustrator and painter (1882–1945)

Newell Convers Wyeth, known as N. C. Wyeth, was an American painter and illustrator. He was the pupil of Howard Pyle and became one of America's most well-known illustrators. Wyeth created more than 3,000 paintings and illustrated 112 books — 25 of them for Scribner's, the Scribner Classics, which is the body of work for which he is best known. The first of these, Treasure Island, was one of his masterpieces and the proceeds paid for his studio. Wyeth was a realist painter at a time when the camera and photography began to compete with his craft. Sometimes seen as melodramatic, his illustrations were designed to be understood quickly. Wyeth, who was both a painter and an illustrator, understood the difference, and said in 1908, "Painting and illustration cannot be mixed—one cannot merge from one into the other."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandywine Creek (Christina River tributary)</span> Creek in Pennsylvania and Delaware, US

Brandywine Creek is a tributary of the Christina River in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware in the United States. The Lower Brandywine is 20.4 miles (32.8 km) long and is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River with several tributary streams. The East Branch and West Branch of the creek originate within 2 miles (3 km) of each other on the slopes of Welsh Mountain in Honey Brook Township, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of their confluence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chadds Ford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania</span> Township in Pennsylvania, United States

Chadds Ford Township is an affluent township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is located about 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Philadelphia. Prior to 1996, Chadds Ford Township was known as Birmingham Township; the name was changed to allow the township to correspond to both its census-designated place and to distinguish itself from the adjacent Birmingham Township in Chester County. As of the 2010 census, Chadds Ford Township had a population of 3,640, up from 3,170 at the 2000 census.

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James Browning Wyeth is an American realist painter, son of Andrew Wyeth, and grandson of N.C. Wyeth. He was raised in Chadds Ford Township, Pennsylvania, and is artistic heir to the Brandywine School tradition – painters who worked in the rural Brandywine River area of Delaware and Pennsylvania, portraying its people, animals, and landscape.

The Brandywine Wildflower and Native Plant Gardens are gardens at the Brandywine River Museum, located on U.S. Route 1 beside the Brandywine Creek in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandywine School</span>

The Brandywine School was a style of illustration—as well as an artists colony in Wilmington, Delaware and in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, near the Brandywine River—both founded by artist Howard Pyle (1853–1911) at the end of the 19th century. The works produced there were widely published in adventure novels, magazines, and romances in the early 20th century. Pyle’s teachings would influence such notable illustrators as N.C. Wyeth, Maxfield Parrish, and Norman Rockwell. Pyle himself would come to be known as the "Father of American Illustration." Many works related to the Brandywine School may be seen at the Brandywine River Museum of Art, in Chadds Ford.

Christian C. Sanderson Museum American museum of historical artifacts

The Christian C. Sanderson Museum, or simply Sanderson Museum, is a museum of historical artifacts in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Chadds Ford Historic District. The items in the museum were collected over many years by Christian C. Sanderson (1882–1966), a teacher, musician, poet, actor, writer, traveler, radio commentator and local historian. The Sanderson Museum was founded in 1967 by his friend and Brandywine artist Andrew Wyeth.

Tom Bostelle was an American painter and sculptor.

Bo Bartlett is an American Realist painter working in Columbus, Georgia and Wheaton Island, Maine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">N. C. Wyeth House and Studio</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

The N. C. Wyeth House and Studio is a historic house museum and artist's studio on Murphy Road in Chadds Ford Township, Pennsylvania, United States. Beginning with its construction in 1911, it served as the principal home and studio of artist N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945). It was restored to its original appearance around the time of his death. The property is managed by the Brandywine River Museum, which offers tours. It was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1997.

James Welling is an American artist, photographer and educator living in New York City. He attended Carnegie-Mellon University where he studied drawing with Gandy Brodie and at the University of Pittsburgh where he took modern dance classes. Welling transferred to the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California in 1971 and received a B.F.A. and an M.F.A. in the School of Art. At Cal Arts, he studied with John Baldessari, Wolfgang Stoerchle and Jack Goldstein.

John Willard McCoy (1910–1989) was an American artist who painted landscapes, portraits, and still lifes. He was married to Ann Wyeth, daughter of N.C. Wyeth and sister of Andrew Wyeth, all artists.

George Alexis Weymouth, better known as Frolic Weymouth, was an American artist, whip or stager, and conservationist. He served on the United States Commission of Fine Arts in the 1970s and was a member of the Du Pont family.

Carolyn Wyeth, daughter of N.C. Wyeth and sister of Andrew Wyeth, was a well-known artist in her own right. Her hometown was Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. She worked and taught out of N. C. Wyeth House and Studio. Her nephew, Jamie Wyeth was one of her students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuerner Farm</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

Kuerner Farm, also known as Ring Farm, is a historic farm in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, notable for its association with artist Andrew Wyeth, who created about one-third of his work, over 1,000 paintings and drawings, on subjects he found there over a span of 77 years. The farm was listed in the National Register of Historic Places and declared a National Historic Landmark in 2011. The property abuts the Brandywine Battlefield, another National Historic Landmark. The farm is open to public tours, operated by the Brandywine River Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Hanna (artist)</span> American artist

William David Hanna, known as David Hanna, was an American artist who produced drawings, paintings, and sculpture in graphite, watercolor, egg tempera, drybrush, bronze, and marble. Hanna lived and worked in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Bristol, Maine. His art predominantly focused on the structures, furnishings, and people of those regions.

<i>Reception to Washington on April 21, 1789, at Trenton on his way to New York to Assume the Duties of the Presidency of the United States</i> Painting by N. C. Wyeth

Reception to Washington on April 21, 1789, at Trenton on his way to New York to Assume the Duties of the Presidency of the United States is a large-scale oil painting completed in 1930 by American artist N. C. Wyeth of president-elect George Washington at his reception in Trenton, New Jersey during his journey to the 1789 inauguration in New York City. The mural was commissioned by the First Mechanics National Bank of Trenton, now part of Wells Fargo. It has been on display in the lobby of Thomas Edison State University since 2013. Wells Fargo donated the painting to the university in 2019, the most expensive gift ever given to the university.

American composer, pianist and painter Ann Wyeth McCoy was the youngest daughter of artist-illustrator N.C. Wyeth and the fourth of his five children. She was born in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Ann had a life-long interest in antique porcelain dolls, which began in 1923 when she received her first doll as a gift from her parents on her eighth birthday. Each subsequent birthday and Christmas during her childhood, she received another doll. From 1972 to 2004 her doll collection was exhibited at the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford during the Christmas holidays.

References

  1. "Brandywine River Museum | Museum Day Venues | Smithsonian Magazine". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2009-09-28.
  2. 1 2 Times, SARAH E. MORAN, Special to the. "End of an era at Brandywine River Museum as longtime director Jim Duff retires". The Delaware County Daily Times. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
  3. Lamar, Andre (December 13, 2021). "Despite $8M in flood damage, Hagley and Brandywine River Museum still spread Christmas joy". The News Journal. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  4. 1 2 Logan, Virginia (December 5, 2021). "Open Call: Brandywine River Museum, recovering from flood, greets holiday season". The News Journal. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  5. Critic, By Edward J. Sozanski, Inquirer Contributing Art. "Famed artist Andrew Wyeth dies". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2021-02-23. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  6. Mummert, Roger (2006-11-03). "Brandywine, a Valley of History, Nature and Art". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  7. "The N.C. Wyeth House & Studio | Brandywine Conservancy and Museum of Art". www.brandywine.org. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  8. "Kuerner Farm | Brandywine Conservancy and Museum of Art". www.brandywine.org. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  9. "The Andrew Wyeth Studio | Brandywine Conservancy and Museum of Art". www.brandywine.org. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  10. Media, Visit Delco PA Visit Delco PA 1501 N. Providence Rd. "Wildflower & Native Plant Gardens at the Brandywine River Museum of Art". Visit Delco PA. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
  11. "Philadelphia Museum of Art - Exhibitions - Andrew Wyeth: Memory and Magic". www.philamuseum.org. Retrieved 2021-08-18.

Coordinates: 39°52′12″N75°35′35″W / 39.8699°N 75.5930°W / 39.8699; -75.5930