The Brandywine Museum of Art is a museum of regional and American art located on

U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making i ...

Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania Chadds Ford is a census-designated place (CDP) in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Chester County, Pennsylvania, Chester counties, Pennsylvania, United States, comprising the unincorporated area, unincorporated communities of Chadds F ...

on the banks of the Brandywine Creek. The museum showcases the work of

Andrew Wyeth Andrew Newell Wyeth ( ; July 12, 1917 – January 16, 2009) was an American visual artist, primarily a realist painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century. In his ...

, a major American realist painter, and his family: his father

N.C. Wyeth Newell Convers Wyeth (October 22, 1882 – October 19, 1945), known as N. C. Wyeth, was an American painter and illustrator. He was the pupil of Howard Pyle and became one of America's most well-known illustrators. Wyeth created more than 3,000 ...

, illustrator of many children's classics; his sister

Ann Wyeth McCoy American composer, pianist and painter Ann Wyeth McCoy (March 15, 1915 - November 10, 2005) was the youngest daughter of artist-illustrator N. C. Wyeth, N.C. Wyeth and the fourth of his five children. She was born in Chadds Ford Historic District, ...

, a composer and painter; and his son

Jamie Wyeth James Browning Wyeth (born July 6, 1946) is an American Realism (arts), realist painter, son of Andrew Wyeth, and grandson of N.C. Wyeth. He was raised in Chadds Ford Township, Pennsylvania, and is artistic heir to the Brandywine School traditio ...

, a contemporary American realist painter.

History

The museum is a program of the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art. It opened in 1971 through the efforts of "Frolic" Weymouth, who also served on its board. In September 2021, the museum's lower level was flooded due to the remnants of

Hurricane Ida Hurricane Ida was a deadly and extremely destructive Category 4 Atlantic hurricane in 2021 that became the second-most damaging and intense hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. state of Louisiana on record, behind Hurricane Katrina in 200 ...

with mechanical systems, lecture rooms, classrooms and office spaces damaged and estimates around $6 million. The museum still opened for the holiday season in limited capacity later in the year.

Location

The museum, sometimes referred to as the Wyeth Museum, is housed in a converted nineteenth-century

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

overlooking the banks of the Brandywine Creek. The glass-wall lobby overlooks the river and countryside that inspired the

Brandywine School The Brandywine School was a style of illustration—as well as an artists colony in Wilmington, Delaware and in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, near the Brandywine River—both founded by artist Howard Pyle (1853–1911) at the end of the 19th century. ...

earlier in the early 20th century.

The museum's permanent collection features American illustration,

still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

works, and

landscape painting Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent compos ...

Jasper Francis Cropsey Jasper Francis Cropsey (February 18, 1823 – June 22, 1900) was an important American landscape artist of the Hudson River School. Early years Cropsey was born on his father Jacob Rezeau Cropsey's farm in Rossville on Staten Island, New Yor ...

Harvey Dunn Harvey Thomas Dunn NA (March 8, 1884 – October 29, 1952) was an American painter and teacher. He is best known for his prairie-intimate masterpiece, ''The Prairie is My Garden'' (1950). In this painting, a mother and her two children ar ...

, Peter Hurd,

Maxfield Parrish Maxfield Parrish (July 25, 1870 – March 30, 1966) was an American painter and illustration, illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. His ...

Howard Pyle Howard Pyle (March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people. He was a native of Wilmington, Delaware, and he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy. In 1894, he began ...

William Trost Richards William Trost Richards (November 14, 1833 – November 8, 1905) was an American landscape artist. He was associated with both the Hudson River School and the American Pre-Raphaelite movement. Biography William Trost Richards was born on November ...

Barclay Rubincam Barclay Lawrence Rubincam (July 2, 1920 – June 24, 1978) was an American artist who painted mostly in a regionalist style. He specialized in natural and historical scenes of his native Chester County, Pennsylvania. His art is held in the perm ...

, and

Jessie Willcox Smith Jessie Willcox Smith (September 6, 1863 – May 3, 1935) was an American illustrator during the Golden Age of American illustration. She was considered "one of the greatest pure illustrators". A contributor to books and magazines during the lat ...

. It is also known for the collection and display of O-gauge

model trains Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, t ...

that have been on display since about 1972 and includes about of track and more than 1,000 pieces. The museum has also put on a critter ornament display and sale since 1971, with animal ornaments created with only natural materials; some were displayed at the White House in 1984.

References

External links

Brandywine Museum of Art
{{coord, 39.8699, -75.5930, region:US-PA_type:landmark, display=title Art museums and galleries in Pennsylvania Museums in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Wyeth family Brandywine Museums & Gardens Alliance Art museums established in 1971 Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums Museums of American art 1971 establishments in Pennsylvania Andrew Wyeth Chadds Ford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania

History

Location

Contents

See also

References

External links