BRANDYWINE RIVER MUSEUM CELEBRATES
THE OPENING OF NEW GALLERIES
(April 2004, #007)


At the completion of a two-year facilities expansion program, the Brandywine River Museum will open its new wing with two entirely new galleries. To celebrate, the museum will present a special exhibition, Our Brandywine Heritage: A Celebration. It will fill the museum from April 24 to May 23, 2004 with works of art selected from the permanent collection. Presenting these wonderful and fascinating works also celebrates the marvelous growth of the museum's holdings. Beginning with only 7 works of art when the museum opened in 1971, today the collection includes more than 3,000 works representing the important American traditions that are our heritage.

The museum's dedication to the art of the Brandywine Valley is recognized internationally. From the beginning, the art of Howard Pyle and the Wyeth family defined the Brandywine River Museumís primary commitment in collecting, exhibitions and publications. Over more than three decades, knowledge of this regionís special art history has grown because of the museumís research. With that knowledge, the museum's collections and galleries have been enriched and enlivened by beautiful and diverse works that have helped shape American culture in many ways. Through centuries, the Brandywine Valley has contributed to major facets of American art: landscape and genre painting, still life and illustration.

Moreover, the Brandywine River Museum presents the art of the region within the context of American art. The Brandywine region has been of enormous importance, principally through Howard Pyle and his students, to the development of American illustration. The museum's extensive collection of illustrations by hundreds of artists helps visitors understand the images five generations of regional artists have produced for American publishers. Undoubtedly, these fine illustrations stand alone as vital works of art.

The rich heritage of American still life painting began in the broader Delaware valley. In recognition of that tradition, the museum has assembled a fine collection of still life work, with emphasis on the fascinating trompe l'oeil effect so many artists have pursued. Historians note that artists of the Brandywine valley have contributed significantly to the American still life tradition.

Landscape art in the United States began as a remarkable tradition in the mid-19th century. Important, innovative painters traveled the country recording and interpreting distinctive geography, both wilderness and pastoral scenes. As can be witnessed from the museum's collection, many of the best painted this river valley, and the Brandywine contributed its own highly talented artists to the landscape tradition as it developed through the 19th century and into the 20th.

The Brandywine River Museum is most closely associated with the Wyeth family. Among the earliest gifts to the collection were major paintings by N.C. Wyeth and Andrew Wyeth. Indeed, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Wyeth began the museum's collection with the contribution of works by Howard Pyle, various members of the family and other artists. Their gifts and others demonstrate how important museum collections are built through thoughtful donations of important art.

Over the decades, many donations and strategic purchases have allowed the museum to be recognized as home to the legacy of three generations in that family, including N. C. Wyeth who arrived in Chadds Ford more than a century ago, his son Andrew and daughters Henriette and Carolyn, and his grandson, James Wyeth. Also essential to the family's history are John McCoy and Peter Hurd who trained with N.C. Wyeth and married into the family.

Visitors to the Brandywine River Museum in 2004 will find parts of its growing collection in two newly opened galleries, part of the Brandywine Conservancyís complex two-year construction project. Visitors will enjoy and gain understanding of distinctive aspects of American art. They also can join the museum in thanking the hundreds of generous, dedicated, informed and considerate donors who - over more than three decades - have built the handsome building and collections in which millions of visitors have found education, beauty and pleasure. This exhibition celebrating our heritage and our continuing growth is dedicated to those many valued donors.

Located on U.S. Route 1 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, the Brandywine River Museum is open daily, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except Christmas Day. Admission is $8 for adults; $5 for seniors ages 65 and over, students with I.D., and children ages 6 to 12; and free for children under six and Brandywine Conservancy members. For more information, please call 610-388-2700.

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