Wednesday, May 30, 2012

5Ws of… Winterthur



What: Winterthur (pronounced “winter-tour”) is the premier museum of American decorative arts, with an unparalleled collection of nearly 90,000 objects made or used in America between about 1640 and 1860.  The collection is displayed in a magnificent 175-room house as well as in permanent and changing exhibition galleries.


Who: In the early 20th century, H. F. du Pont and his father, Henry Algernon du Pont, designed Winterthur in the spirit of 18th- and 19th-century European country houses. The younger du Pont added to the home many times thereafter, increasing its number of rooms by nearly sixfold. After he established the main building as a public museum in 1951, he moved to a smaller building on the estate.


Where: Winterthur is set amidst a 1,000-acre preserve of rolling meadows and woodlands including a 60-acre naturalistic garden, in Winterthur, Delaware. 


When: On Tuesday, June 5, Learn more about Winterthur and other iconic houses at “Addicted to Old Houses: Iconic Rooms and Influential Interiors,” presented at Sotheby’s by Tom Savage, Director, Museum Affairs, Winterthur Museum.  For more information, please visit www.kipsbay.org
 

Why: "I sincerely hope that the Museum will be a continuing source of inspiration and education for all time, and that the gardens and grounds will of themselves be a country place museum where visitors may enjoy as I have, not only the flowers, trees and shrubs, but also the sunlit meadows, shady wood paths, and the peace and great calm of a country place which has been loved and taken care of for three generations." – Henry Francis Du Pont

Images courtesy Winterthur.

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