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Category Archives: Decorative Arts
Blossoming Prints: The Dutch Flower Still Life Tradition at Winterthur
Winterthur welcomes the first day of spring with printed flowers in bloom! Visitors to Winterthur know that Henry Francis du Pont’s love of flowers and gardens extended to his collecting and decorating practices. In addition to displaying fresh flowers in … Continue reading
The Julia Child of Needlework
The second blog post in our New Accessions series features the needlework of Erica Wilson (1928-2011) recently donated to Winterthur by her family. Quite modern compared to the majority of Winterthur’s decorative arts collection (most of which were made before … Continue reading
The Remarkable Life and Career of a Free African-American Cabinetmaker
This mid-19th-century mahogany veneer dressing bureau, one of Winterthur’s newest furniture acquisitions, is a visually striking object with an even more striking history. Although the dresser conforms to popular urban furniture designs of its era (with its distinctive carved bracket … Continue reading
Posted in Academic Programs, antiques, Furniture, galleries, museum collection, Uncategorized
Tagged 19th century, African-American, Antebellum South, antiques, furniture, Henry Francis du Pont, milton, museum acquisitions, nc, thomas day, Winterthur Museum, Winterthur Program in American Material Culture
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Domestic Politics
Every four years, after each presidential election, there are newspaper op-eds claiming that the campaign that year was longer, nastier, and more divisive than ever. The truth of the matter is that presidential campaigns of the past could be just … Continue reading
Let There Be (Just Enough) Light!
The eternal dilemma for all museums revolves around light: we need light to see our collections, but light causes damage that eventually leads to objects’ destruction. Mitigating light exposure can help extend the lifespan of objects on display and is … Continue reading
Why So Sensitive?
If you read the Winterthur Blog about a year ago, you may have stumbled across the post A Brittle Beauty and discovered that the treatment of Winterthur’s Chinese export lacquer has been part of an ongoing IMLS grant that began … Continue reading
My Favorite Things
Take a peek inside the favorite things of those who work at Winterthur. Linda Eaton, John L. & Marjorie P. McGraw Director of Collections & Senior Curator of Textiles, and Tom Savage, Director of Museum Affairs, each share one of … Continue reading
Reuniting Two Treaty Elm Vases
One of the more curious items in Winterthur’s collection is a carved wooden vase attributed to the Philadelphia carver George Magraph. The vase, or urn, which tilts slightly to the side due to warping over time, features vegetal carved decoration … Continue reading
H. F. du Pont’s Chestertown House
It’s 1919, and you have a one-year-old daughter. Wilmington summers can be oppressive, and in these days before widespread air-conditioning, there is not much relief. Where do you go to escape the heat? Fortunately at that time, if you were … Continue reading
The New South: Reflections on the Future of the Past
The Winterthur Program in American Material Culture (WPAMC) took our annual southern studies field trip recently. Since the last trip occurred, Catharine Dann Roeber has taken over as assistant professor of Decorative Arts and Material Culture, and I have stepped … Continue reading
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