Art in the Brandywine Valley
WILMINGTON, DE, May 8, 2007. The Brandywine Valley, where Pennsylvania and Delaware meet just thirty miles southwest of Philadelphia, welcomes art lovers this spring and summer. Quilts, pocket matchsafes, photographs, contemporary prints, and the natural environment are all on display at the area's world-class museums, gardens, and estates.
The Discover Brandywine Valley Public Relations Association, a consortium of ten attractions, provides information and guidance to journalists interested in covering this rich travel destination. [Click for more> ]
Strikingly Beautiful: Pocket Matchsafes, 1850-1910 runs at the Brandywine River Museum, May 26-July 22. Friction matches, invented in the 1830s, often ignited spontaneously at inopportune times. A small, tightly sealed container called a "matchsafe" enabled matches to be safely transported in a pocket. Matchsafes quickly became fashionable accoutrements. The exhibit showcases these small artworks, including some designed by Tiffany, Cartier, and Gorham. Art goes to the dogs in the fetching exhibition, Dog Days of Summer: Works by Jamie Wyeth (June 9-September 3), which features more than three decades of Jamie Wyeth's art representing dogs. The museum also offers tours of the nearby Kuerner Farm, a setting for many of Andrew Wyeth's paintings, and the N. C. Wyeth House and Studio. Through November 18. Lora Englehart, 610-388-8337, [email protected].
Photography is featured in two exhibits at the Delaware Art Museum. Contemporary Photography and the Garden-Deceits and Fantasies (June 23-September 16) looks at a group of American and European photographers and their wide range of artistic responses to the garden, from reflecting upon it as a site of lyrical beauty to drawing upon it as a dark visual metaphor for the manipulation of nature. A complementary exhibition, The Cultivated Eye-Brandywine Valley Photographers (June 1-October 23), presents nature photos from regional photographers, presenting familiar scenes in unusual ways, and highlighting both the vitality and the gloom of the natural world. Dennis Lawson, 302-571-9590, x. 515, [email protected].
Art goes to the dogs in two fetching exhibitions. Dog Days of Summer: Works by Jamie Wyeth at the Brandywine River Museum (June 9-September 3) features more than three decades of Jamie Wyeth's art representing dogs.
The Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts hosts, Duped: Prints by Alison Saar (through August 5). Saar received her undergraduate degree in Art and Art History from Scripps College in Claremont, CA, and her Master's in Fine Arts from the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. Her multicultural approach to art originated during her undergraduate years, when she also studied the art and religions of African, Caribbean, and Latin American cultures. Saar employs archetypal images in her work to reach out to audiences from diverse backgrounds. Her prints are layered with meaning, and concentrate on ethnic identity, the African Diaspora, racism. and sexism. The 21 prints in the exhibit evoke the past and address the present day as well. Valerie Jermusyk, 302-656-6466, [email protected].
Surprising Artistry; Francis B. Crowninshield Watercolors at Hagley Museum (through December 31) includes paintings of the three homes and gardens where Crowninshield, one of the last inhabitants at Hagley, lived with his wife, Louise Evelina du Pont. Crowninshield began painting in 1924, concentrating on homes, gardens, ships, and people. Lucille Kahan, 302-658-2400, ext. 238; @hagley.org.
Made By Delaware Hands is presented at the Read House & Gardens in New Castle, a site administered by the Historical Society of Delaware, and at the Society's Delaware History Museum in Wilmington (through August). More than 100 hand-made decorative arts pieces from the Historical Society's collections, including Delaware-designed clocks, chests of drawers, and dining tables, tell the story of Delaware's heritage, history, and culture. Megen Morris, 302-295-2390, [email protected].
Majestic trees are the stars of an innovative environmental art exhibit at Longwood Gardens, InTREEgue (May 26-September 1). Eight site-specific installations stimulate the senses and inspire the imagination while celebrating Longwood's most remarkable trees. Patricia Evans, 610-388-1000, ext. 442; [email protected].
Discover Winterthur's outstanding collection of quilts, some considered to be icons in the field, at Quilts in a Material World: Selections from the Winterthur Collection (through September). Ranging from the 17th to the 19th century, more than 40 quilts are on view-many for the first time. Winterthur also presents Furniture Meets its Maker (May 12-August 12), featuring approximately 20 sculptures and 5 works on paper by the innovative artist Gord Peteran. Peteran has pursued a boundary-crossing career in furniture-making, opening up the craft to an unprecedented range of psychological and conceptual art. Hillary Holland, 302-888-4734; [email protected].
The Discover Brandywine Valley Public Relations Association (DBVPRA) provides a central resource for journalists. Visit the website www.brandywinetreasures.org or contact Susan M. Maynard, 302-651-6912, [email protected] for more information.
Discover Brandywine Valley Public Relations Association Members (www.brandywinetreasures.org):
Brandywine River Museum U.S. Route 1, Chadds Ford, PA 19317; www.brandywinemuseum.org. Lora Englehart, 610-388-8337, [email protected].
Delaware Art Museum 2301 Kentmere Parkway, Wilmington, DE 19806; www.delart.org. Dennis Lawson, 302-571-9590, x. 515, [email protected].
Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, 200 S. Madison St., Wilmington, DE 19801; www.thedcca.org. Valerie Jermusyk, 302-656-6466, [email protected].
Delaware Museum of Natural History, 4840 Kennett Pike, Delaware Route 52, Wilmington, DE 19807; www.delmnh.org. David Moore, 302-658-9111, [email protected].
Hagley Museum and Library, DE Route 141, Wilmington, DE 19807; www.hagley.org. Lucille Kahan, 302-658-2400, ext. 238; @hagley.org.
Historical Society of Delaware (includes Delaware History Museum in Wilmington and George Read II House and Gardens in New Castle), 504 Market St., Wilmington, DE 19801; www.hsd.org. Megen Morris, 302-295-2390, [email protected].
Nemours Mansion and Gardens, 1600 Rockland Rd., Wilmington, DE 19803; www.nemoursmansion.org. Susan M. Maynard, 302-651-6912; [email protected].
Longwood Gardens, U.S. Route 1 at PA Route 52, Kennett Square, PA 19348; www.longwoodgardens.org. Patricia Evans, 610-388-1000, ext. 442; [email protected].
Rockwood Park and Mansion, 610 Shipley Rd., Wilmington, DE 19805; www.rockwood.org. Carol K. Dougherty, 302-761-4340, [email protected].
Winterthur Museum & Country Estate, DE Route 52, Winterthur, DE 19735; www.winterthur.org. Hillary Holland, 302-888-4734; [email protected].
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