1949 Restored Marshall Collection. Courtesy Sanborn Studio

 

Lectures

Historic Autos Lectures
 

Each Saturday during May we will feature an afternoon lecture on historic autos. Plan to join us and then take a look at our display of gorgeous vintage automobiles of the kind that graced Winterthur from the early 1900s to the 1960s. Each week features a different thematic display Members free. Included with admission.

May 4, 1:00 pm
Rotunda
“Stanley Steamers and the Marshall Steam Museum Collection”
Susan Randolph, executive director, Marshall Steam Museum and Friends of Auburn Heights Preserve

May 18, 1:00 pm
Brown Horticulture Learning Center
“Automobile Advertising: Slogans and Images of the Post-War Era”
Greg Landrey, director of library, collections management, and academic programs, Winterthur

May 25, 1:00 pm
Brown Horticulture Learning Center
“Highlights of Cadillac and LaSalle automobiles, 1903–1972”
Greg Landrey, director of library, collections management, and academic programs, Winterthur

Staff Lecture Series

 

“Rags on Riches:  Collection Maintenance at Winterthur”

Thursday, May 9

12:15–1:15 pm, Rotunda

Ever wonder how we take care of such an enormous decorative arts collection? Ever curious about the behind-the-scenes work that takes place daily in H. F. du Pont's vast rooms in the house? Join Matt Mickletz, supervisor of preventive conservation, to learn how Winterthur's collection is kept so immaculate—not only by extensive dusting— but through close monitoring of the environment and pest activity. Members free. Included with admission.

Trade card, A.C. Yates & Co., Philadelphia,1882. Private Collection.

“The Little Founder Who Could: William Penn in Myth, Memory, and Material Culture”

Thursday,  June 6

12:15–1:15 pm, Rotunda

Winterthur’s collection holds urns, chairs, prints, toy tea sets, and boxes among other objects depicting or commemorating William Penn and the founding era of Pennsylvania. These material goods served important functions in creating Pennsylvania origin stories that are part true, part imagined. Catharine Dann Roeber, curatorial intern at Winterthur, will discuss the processes of relic making and uncover the role such objects have played in crafting a public history for Pennsylvania from the 17th century into today. Members free.  Included with admission.

Common Destinations Lecture Series

 

“The Mapmaker’s Deception: Samuel Lewis and the Art of Illusion”

Thursday, May 30

12:15–1:15 pm, Rotunda

Join Wendy Bellion, associate professor, department of art history, University of Delaware, for a lively discussion on Samuel Lewis and the art of illusion. Members free.  Included with admission.

Margaret Pritchard

“To Decorate, Educate, and Elevate: Maps as Symbols of Status and Gender”
 

Thursday, June 27

12:15–1:15 pm, Rotunda

Maps, charts, atlases, and globes were considered important symbols of enlightened gentleman. As important as they were for documenting new discoveries, promoting settlement, and recording boundaries, they were equally regarded for the intellectual aura that they invoked. They were hung on walls as a means to visually distinguish learned men from those who were less educated. Documentary evidence supports the presence of maps in spaces within the house that were most associated with men. Maps were also included on artists’ canvases and engravers’ plates to suggest male interests and to reinforce their enlightened nature. However, cartographic representations on two-dimensional art were occasionally used to reflect a negative connotation toward women. This talk with Margaret Pritchard, curator of prints, maps, and wallpaper, Colonial Williamsburg, will discuss how maps were used decoratively as well as symbolically. Members free. Included with admission.