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An American Vision: Henry Francis du Pont's Winterthur Museum

May 5 – October 6, 2002
West Building, Ground Floor, Central Gallery

Chest, Berks County, Pennsylvania, 1765-1810, Winterthur Museum purchase 1955.95.1

This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.

Overview: In honor of the 50th anniversary of the opening of Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, 296 objects from the collections of the museum were presented. Furniture, textiles, paintings, watercolors, ceramics, glass, needlework, and metalwork, all made or used in America between 1640 and 1860, were included. The presentation was organized in five thematic sections: Early Settlement and Sophistication; Passion for Rococo; East Meets West; Arts of the Pennsylvania Germans; and American Classicism. Six photographs of period rooms and gardens at Winterthur were on view at the end of the exhibition.

Organization: The exhibition was organized by Winterthur Museum, Delaware, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Wendy A. Cooper, the Lois F. and Henry S. McNeil Senior Curator of Furniture at Winterthur, was the curator.

Sponsor: The exhibition was made possible by Louisa and Robert Duemling. DuPont was the sponsor in celebration of its 200th anniversary. The catalogue was supported by grants from Linda H. Kaufman and the Kaufman Americana Foundation in memory of George M. Kaufman, The Alexandria Association, and The Washington Decorative Arts Forum.

Attendance: 449,971

Catalog: An American Vision: Henry Francis du Pont's Winterthur Museum, by Wendy A. Cooper with the assistance of Tara L. Gleason and Katharine A. John. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art; Delaware: Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, 2002.

Brochure: An American Vision: Henry Francis du Pont's Winterthur Museum by Wendy A. Cooper. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 2002.

An American Vision: Henry Francis du Pont's Winterthur Museum
Audio, Released: September 18, 2012, (55:49 minutes)