Winterthur encompass meadows, woodlands, and 70 acres of spectacular naturalistic gardens (Photo: Robert Leitch/Winterthur)
Henry Francis du Pont, a member of one of Delaware’s industrialist families, began collecting American antiques, art, and architecture in the 1920s and transformed his family’s 19th-century estate into a world-renowned museum that opened to the public in 1951. Join decorative arts specialist Erin Kuykendall for an in-depth exploration of the exceptional collection of American decorative arts on view at the Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library.
On the way to Winterthur, Kuykendall offers an overview of du Pont’s role as a collector, the museum’s history, its holdings, and research and conservation programs. The on-site visit begins with a tour of the mansion’s interiors to see exceptional examples of early American furniture, silver, metalwork, textiles, ceramics, glass, and fine art, all set within historic architectural interiors from the early 1700s through the 1840s.
In addition to a comprehensive custom tour of the house, the group enjoys lunch at the Visitor Center’s Garden Café, which offers seasonal menu items inspired by the museum's collections and exhibitions. Afterward, take in the late-spring beauty of Winterthur’s fabled gardens on a special guided tram tour through landscapes filled with dogwoods, lilacs, primroses, azaleas, rhododendrons, and blue and white iris. The afternoon also includes a curator-led tour of the exhibition Re-Vision 20/20: Through a Woman’s Lens, which looks at objects in the Winterthur galleries through the perspective of three centuries of women’s stories.
Fringe stop at about 8:25 a.m.
Note: The tour involves considerable walking, standing, and some stairs.
