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Release Date: November 16, 2001
More Than 300 Masterpieces from Henry Francis du Pont's Remarkable
"Collection of Collections" Will Be on View at the National
Gallery of Art
May 5 - October 6, 2002
Washington, DC -- Winterthur, An American Country Estate located in Delaware's picturesque Brandywine Valley, is widely known for its museum, garden, and library. Open to the public since 1951, it displays Henry Francis du Pont's (1880-1969) magnificent collection of American decorative arts. In celebration of Winterthur's 50th anniversary, a selection of the rarest and most renowned objects from its collection will be installed in the first exhibition to travel in the museum's history. An American Vision: Henry Francis du Pont's Winterthur Museum will be on view at the National Gallery of Art, West Building, May 5 through October 6, 2002.
This installation will present more than 300 masterpieces from Winterthur's collection of 85,000 objects, including furniture, textiles, paintings, prints and drawings, ceramics, glass, and metalwork, all made or used in America between 1640 and 1860.
"The American past and its aesthetic genius were the passion of Henry Francis du Pont, whose taste shaped the world of American collecting and decorating throughout the 20th century," said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art. "We are grateful to DuPont for its generosity in helping to bring to Washington for the first time in Winterthur's history many of the finest masterpieces from its unparalleled collection."
Sponsors
The exhibition is made possible by Louisa and Robert Duemling, and by DuPont, in celebration of its 200th anniversary.
"DuPont is honored to bring to the National Gallery such an important and renowned exhibition," said Charles O. Holliday, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer. "We do so in recognition of our company's 200th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of Winterthur. We are delighted to celebrate and share these important occasions with the public by bringing to the museum this stunning array of some of the preeminent examples of early decorative arts."
Exhibition Organization
The exhibition will focus on major style periods and themes that mark Henry Francis du Pont's accomplishments as a collector. Several themes will run through each section, including documented works signed or labeled by their makers; English, European, and Asian sources of inspiration; and the uniquely American aspects of the works on view.
Early Settlement and Sophistication: The first gallery in the exhibition will explore the decorative arts of the earliest settlers in colonial America. Many of these works are reminiscent of mannerist and late Renaissance designs that were popular in England and the Netherlands at the time. The centerpiece of this section, an impressive 1680 court cupboard from Essex County, Massachusetts, will display fine examples of silver, pewter, and ceramic objects.
Passion for Rococo: The works in this section will include outstanding pieces created by mid-18th Century artisans working in urban centers such as Philadelphia, Charleston, and Boston, in a style commonly called Chippendale after the English craftsman whose design books helped disseminate a taste for extravagant curves and ornamentation. A particular favorite of H. F. du Pont, objects in this style conveyed true status and beauty, often rivaling foreign products. A magnificent 1769 mahogany high chest (8 feet high, with gilded hardware) and the matching dressing table and chair made en suite for Michael and Miriam Gratz of Philadelphia will be on view, as will seven major paintings by preeminent American artists of the day.
East Meets West: The influence of China on 18th-century American design captivated du Pont. He collected both objects that were imported from the East by wealthy colonials and those produced by European and English craftsmen who interpreted the Oriental motifs in their own fashion. Among the items brought to America from China were towering porcelain pagodas and enormous dinner sets of individually monogrammed porcelain made specifically for export to Europe and America. Hand-painted and printed cottons produced in India were among the most popular and influential exports from the East. Among Western interpretations of Oriental designs in the exhibition are a brilliantly lacquered, or japanned, Boston high chest of drawers circa 1750 and a tea table with Oriental fretwork galleries and stretchers.
The Arts of the Pennsylvania Germans: Among the earliest collecting interests of H. F. du Pont and one of the great strengths of the Winterthur collection are the colorful decorative arts of the German settlers of eastern Pennsylvania. This section offers cupboards filled with boldly decorated pottery, chests painted and inlaid with symbolic images of flowers and birds, woven coverlets and quilts, and illuminated manuscripts called fraktur, which served as paper records of births, marriages, and house blessings. Such objects, made by and for these rural communities, document various aspects of their daily lives and the wealth of their cultural heritage.
American Classicism: The last section in the exhibition displays the brilliance of the classical revival in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as colonials became Americans and created their own patriotic heroes reinterpreted from French and English versions of Greek and Roman designs. One such hero was George Washington, who was depicted in scores of textiles, ceramics, paintings, and other decorative objects from this period. These images of America's first president, including John Trumbull's renowned painting Washington at Verplanck's Point (1790), reinforced the concept of democracy and the birth of a new nation.
A final vignette in the exhibition, taken from the Du Pont dining room at Winterthur, demonstrates H. F. du Pont's quest for objects with historical significance and his genius for arranging works with relation to color, proportion, and composition. A spectacular 1790 New York sideboard is adorned with six matching tankards made by Boston silversmith Paul Revere in 1772, two mahogany urn-shaped knife cases owned originally by wealthy merchant Elias Hasket Derby, and a selection of exquisite pieces of Chinese porcelain made for the American market. Above the sideboard hangs Benjamin West's important unfinished painting American Commissioners of the Preliminary Peace Negotiations with Great Britain (1783-1784), a scene which heralds the official conclusion of the American Revolution.
Organization, Curator, Catalogue
The exhibition is organized by Winterthur and the National Gallery of Art, Washington. It is curated by Wendy A. Cooper, the Lois F. and Henry S. McNeil Senior Curator of Furniture at Winterthur. An illustrated catalogue will be available in the Gallery Shops and through the Web site at www.nga.gov/shop/shop.htm. To order by phone, call (800) 697-9350.
General Information
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Ave. NW, are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1. For information call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176, or visit the Gallery’s Web site at www.nga.gov.
Visitors will be asked to present all carried items for inspection upon entering. Checkrooms are free of charge and located at each entrance. Luggage and other oversized bags must be presented at the Fourth Street Entrance of the East or West Building to permit X-ray screening and must be deposited in the checkrooms at those entrances. Any items larger than 17 X 26 inches cannot be accepted by the Gallery or its checkrooms. For the safety of the art work and visitors, nothing may be carried into the Gallery on a visitor’s back. Any bag or other items that cannot be carried reasonably and safely in some other manner must be left at the checkrooms.
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