In celebration of Winterthur's 50th anniversary in 2001, an exhibition of the rarest and most renowned objects from the museum's collection was organized for the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Now, for the first time ever, some of Winterthur's most prized possessions are traveling the nation; An American Vision: Treasures from the Winterthur Museum will be on view at the Worcester Art Museum from November 4, 2007 through April 6, 2008.
Winterthur Museum & Country Estate, located in Delaware's picturesque Brandywine Valley, is the former family home of the legendary du Pont family. Open to the public since 1951, Winterthur displays Henry Francis du Pont's (1880-1969) magnificent collection of American decorative arts.
This installation presents more than 300 masterpieces from Winterthur's collection of 85,000 objects, including furniture, textiles, paintings, prints, drawings, ceramics, glass, and metalwork, all made or used in America between 1640 and 1860.
"Winterthur's celebrated collection of American decorative arts tells the story of American taste, and is most important to our nation's history," said James A. Welu, Director of the Worcester Art Museum. "In a sense, some of these objects are 'coming home,' as many of them were made in New England or were commissioned for New England homes. This exhibition is an opportunity for the Worcester Art Museum to present a rare glimpse of some of our country's most important decorative arts, as well as to highlight Worcester's own important holdings in American Art. We are most grateful to Winterthur for sharing its exceptional collection with us."
The exhibition explores major style periods and themes that mark Henry Francis du Pont's accomplishments as a collector. Several themes 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.
The exhibition begins with 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 showpiece of this section, an impressive 1680 court cupboard from Essex County, Massachusetts, displays fine examples of silver, pewter, and ceramic objects.
PASSION FOR ROCOCO
This section includes outstanding pieces created by mid-18th-century artisans working in urban centers such as Boston, Philadelphia, and Charleston. The style in which they worked is commonly called Chippendale, named after the English craftsman whose design books helped disseminate a taste for extravagant curves and ornamentation. A particular favorite of Henry Francis 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 matching dressing table and chair made en suite for Michael and Miriam Gratz of Philadelphia will be on view, as will five 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 objects that were imported from the East by wealthy colonials as well as 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 Henry Francis 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 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 provide a stunning grouping. These objects demonstrate Henry Francis du Pont's quest to collect pieces with historical significance and his genius for arranging works with relation to color, proportion, and composition.
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. -- www.worcesterart.org
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