CHADDS FORD, PA - The Kuerner Farm, portrayed in more than 1,000 works of art by Andrew Wyeth, has been acquired by the Brandywine Conservancy. Karl Kuerner Jr. donated a large portion of the farm. The Conservancy, which operates the Brandywine River Museum, purchased the remainder.

"Thanks to the philanthropic spirit of Karl Kuerner Jr. and his family, this landmark of great historic and cultural significance will be preserved," said George A. (Frolic) Weymouth, Chairman of the Brandywine Conservancy's Board of Trustees.

Located just south of the Brandywine Battlefield State Park in Southeastern Pennsylvania, the 33-acre property, also known as Ring Farm, is one third of a mile from Turner's Mill, where illustrator Howard Pyle taught his famous art school during summers between 1898 and 1903. One half mile away was "Windtryst" where Pyle's student, N.C. Wyeth, rented an apartment before building his own house and studio. In 1945, N.C. Wyeth and his grandson were struck by a train and killed at a railroad crossing adjacent to the Kuerner Farm.

Andrew Wyeth, N.C. Wyeth's son, grew up approximately one mile from the Kuerner Farm and has visited it frequently throughout his life. Since his earliest painting of the farm in 1932 at the age of 15, Wyeth has drawn and painted its people, animals, buildings and landscapes, interpreting them to an audience that over decades became international. Many of the works of art are extremely famous images, such as Winter 1946 (1946), Groundhog Day (1959), Evening at Kuerners (1970), Snow Flurries (1953) and Snow Hill (1989).

"I congratulate the Brandywine Conservancy and Brandywine River Museum for preserving a historic farm and one of the last working farms in Delaware County," Andrew Wyeth commented.

"I estimate that one quarter of Andrew Wyeth's art has involved the Kuerner Farm," said James H. Duff, Executive Director of the Brandywine Conservancy and Director of the Brandywine River Museum. "It's been a major source of inspiration to him for almost 70 years."

Karl Kuerner Sr. and his wife, Anna, both now deceased, began renting the farm in 1926, shortly after their emigration from Germany. After 14 years of frugal living, farming and raising Brown Swiss cows, the Kuerners purchased the farm from its owner. There, they brought up four daughters and one son, Karl Kuerner Jr., who settled nearby after reaching adulthood.

The Kuerners held strong ties to their heritage, continuing to speak German and socializing mostly with other German immigrants. Andrew Wyeth was one exception. As a young artist, Wyeth developed a close relationship with the Kuerners and, after years of gradually gaining their trust, he was permitted to roam the property freely-even inside the house-to draw and paint.

In 1971, Wyeth began a series of paintings of Helga Testorf, a German immigrant who helped the Kuerner family care for the aging Karl Kuerner Sr. Sixteen years later, Wyeth unveiled more than 240 of these works, many painted at the Kuerner Farm, in a widely-publicized exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. The exhibition included tempera paintings such as Letting Her Hair Down (1972) and Braids (1979) and drybrush watercolors such as Black Velvet (1972) and Crown of Flowers (1974).

Karl Kuerner Sr. died in 1979 at the age of 80 and his wife died 18 years later. The farm was bequeathed to the Kuerners' five children. Karl Kuerner Jr. then purchased 76% of the property from his sisters and the Brandywine Conservancy purchased the remaining 24%. In 1998, a century after his father's birth, Karl Kuerner Jr. donated his interest in the property to the Brandywine Conservancy to preserve the farm.

"All of my life, this land has been good to me," said Karl Kuerner Jr. " Now it's time to give something back."

The Conservancy's primary goal is to protect the farm's existing natural and cultural resources, including its many acres of open space and historic buildings, at least one of which dates from the 18th century. A strategic plan will address long-term objectives, which may include educational tours for the public from the Brandywine River Museum.

Since 1996, the Brandywine River Museum has conducted educational tours of N.C. Wyeth's studio, which was donated to the Conservancy by the Wyeth family. Restored to reflect its character at the time of N.C. Wyeth's death, the studio houses his easels, furniture, books and props, providing visitors with insight to the environment where he created most of his works.

Founded in 1967, the Brandywine Conservancy is a nonprofit organization that preserves art and environmental resources, primarily of the Brandywine Valley. The Conservancy's Brandywine River Museum is internationally known for its collection of illustration, still life and landscape art, and works by three generations of Wyeths. Since its opening exhibition in 1971, the museum has introduced millions of visitors to the Brandywine Valley's rich artistic heritage.

For more information about the Brandywine Conservancy, call (610) 388-2700.

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