January 2010

Faces of a New Nation: American Portraits of the 18th and Early 19th Centuries from The Metropolitan Museum of Art
July 25, 2009 - January 31, 2010
View masterpieces portraying the men, women, and children of early America. These stunning paintings depict not only people from a particular time and place, but they also reveal the values of the nation across a span of nearly 150 years.

Winterthur is the only venue for this select group of portraits from The Met, which represents many of the young country’s great artists, including John Smibert, John Singleton Copley, Gilbert Stuart, and Samuel F. B. Morse. Members free. Included with all admission tickets.

The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. It is sponsored by DuPont and Potter Anderson & Corroon. Susan Walker Morse (The Muse), Samuel F. B. Morse, ca. 1836–37, oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert L. Pratt, 1945. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Faces of a New Nation: Hands on History Cart
Saturdays, September 5 - November 21, every other week, 1:00 - 3:00pm

Saturdays, November 21 - January 30, 2010, weekly, 1:00 - 3:00 pm (no 12/26 date).

Visit the Hands on History Cart in the Faces of a New Nation exhibition where kids and adults can interact with a guide and explore exhibition themes through hands-on exploration of portrait-related objects and activities. Topics & objects include: tools and materials of the 18th and 19th century painter, gilding and framing materials and tools, and conserved painting examples and materials for examination.

Members free. Included with all admissions.

Lunchtime Lecture Series
Thursday, October 15, November 19, December 17, and January 21
12:15 – 1:00pm
Rotunda (museum building)

Join us the third Thursday each month, October through January, for a lunchtime lecture related to the Faces of a New Nation exhibition. Each month learn about the portrait collection at an area museum. Buy a lunch in Cappucino Cafe or bring one with you to enjoy during the talk.

October 15: "Faces of the First State"
The Delaware Historical Society's director, Joan Reynolds Hoge, discusses portraits of famous Delawareans.

November 19: "Thomas Sully's Portrait of Rebecca Gratz"
Danielle Rice of the Delaware Art Museum, shares insight on one of the "faces" in DAM's portrait collection.

December 17: "Contemporary Portraiture"
Curator Carina Evangelista, of the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, will discuss modern portraiture.

January 21: "Portraits from the Brandywine River Museum"
Educator Mary Cronin will discuss the Brandywine River Museum's portraits, including paintings of the Hare family of Philadelphia and by members of the Wyeth family.


Included with all admission tickets, Members free

Good Tidings to You: Victorian Christmas Ephemera from the John & Carolyn Grossman Collection
October 24, 2009–January 16, 2010

From the traditional to the fantastic, images of holiday cheer filled Victorian Christmases. In this exhibition of printed materials from Christmases in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, explore the artistry and creativity of greeting cards, books, sheet music, calendars, and more, and discover what they tell us about the time in which they were created and enjoyed.

All items in the exhibition are from the John and Carolyn Grossman Collection, a landmark collection of some 250,000 items that visually document life in America from 1820 to 1920, currently housed in the Winterthur Library. Included with all admission tickets. Members free.

Yuletide at Winterthur
November 21, 2009 - January 10, 2010

Yuletide at Winterthur 2009 highlights the holiday celebrations of H. F. du Pont and his family in the first half of the 20th century. Du Pont owned several houses, but only Winterthur was “home,” where family and friends gathered each year to celebrate the holidays. Consider yourself one of those fortunate friends as you visit the exquisitely decorated spaces that recall the warmth and beauty of the season in this elegant country house.

Throughout the tour, special peek-in displays feature toys, books, cards, and other colorful memorabilia from the dawn of the 20th century, all from the John and Carolyn Grossman Collection, now housed in the Winterthur Library. Click here for more information and to get tickets.

WOW! Wee Ones at Winterthur
Now offered twice a month (repeated program)! Meet at the Visitor Center 9:30 - 10:15 am to register/check-in.
Program Begins: 10:15 am (lasts approx. 1 hour)
For ages 3-5 with adult caregiver(s)
Please come prepared/dressed for a short walk.
January 6 ONLY this month.
On the first or third Wednesday of each month, join us for stories related to Winterthur's collection or garden. This early childhood literacy series incorporates active learning through music, movement, and exploration of objects in a warm and welcoming setting. This month's story: Winter Days in the Big Woods. Sorry, not appropriate for day cares or other large groups.
Free for Members. $5 per non-Member child with 1 accompanying adult free. Children under 2 free. $18 each additional adult.

Pages of Time: Mother & Daughter Book and Craft Club (101)
Thursday, January 7, 2010
6:00 - 8:00 pm. For girls in 4th - 6th grade and their female adult caregiver.

Join us for the new Mother (Adult Female) & Daughter Book and Craft Club at Winterthur--just for girls! Once a month on Thursday evenings, we'll get together to discuss a young adult historical fiction book we've all read, try some tasty historical snacks, and make a cool book-related craft to take home. Moms/adults should be sure to read the books too! January's Book Selection: Betsey Zane, The Rose of Fort Henry by Linda Durrant. Registration required. Call 800.448.3883 to register and more details.
Free for Members. $35 per mother & daughter pair for 7-month series. Books should be purchased and/or read prior to each month's club meeting.

Second Saturdays Garden Walk:
Winter Interest in the Garden
January 9, 1:00 pm, Visitor Center
Bundle up as you head outdoors with a Winterthur horticulturist to discover popular and little-known details of the garden. Dress for the weather and wear walking shoes. In case of inclement weather, call 302.888.4915 after 10:00 am. Walks last approximately 90 minutes.
Members free. Included with all admission tickets. No registration necessary.

Faces of a New Nation Family Day!
January 16, 2010
11:00 am-3:00 pm
Discover materials used to create paintings in the past, explore the lives of the sitters in the portraits, and express yourself through a vareity of hands-on activities. Drop in program.
Recommended for children ages 4-12. Members free. Included with admission.

Winterthur Institute: Winter Session
January 17-29

This graduate-level course introduces decorative arts made or used in the American colonies during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Applications due by November 16. Please call 302.888.4931 for an application or more information on the program. $1600 tuition.

Evening Lecture and Book Signing
Dream House: The White House as an American Home
Tuesday, January 19, 6:00 pm
Copeland Lecture Hall

Ulysses Grant Dietz, Senior Curator and Curator of Decorative Arts at the Newark Museum, will present a talk drawn from his book Dream House: The White House as an American Home, published the fall of 2009 by Acanthus Press. Dietz, a great-great grandson of Ulysses and Julia Grant, and his co-author Sam Watters have approached the White House from a perspective never before adopted in any study of the president's home: they write about what is not there more than what is there today. They look at six distinct moments over the course of 160 years and compare the White House to prevailing notions in this country of what the ideal home was: the White House as Country House, as Villa, as Mansion, as Palace, as Suburban Home, and as Shrine. The White House and its grounds offer a microcosm of what happened with the American house and garden from 1800 until 1960.

The surprise comes in the early 1960s. On one hand, Jacqueline Kennedy did exactly what every First Lady before her did: she created her personal Dream House as a setting for the American president. But, on the other hand, she also changed the White House forever. The White House most people think they know was invented in the early 1960s. Behind that Dream House lies a much bigger story of American aspiration and enterprise. Members free. Included with all admission tickets.

Conservation Clinic
January 21, 2010, 1:00-4:00 pm

Bring your antiques! Our experts will discuss their condition and care. Sorry, no appraisals. By appointment only; call 302.888.4786.
Free

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