Page 5 – Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library

Founder’s Circle

We invite you to join Founder’s Circle, an active community of Winterthur’s most generous patrons who are stewards of founder Henry Francis du Pont’s vision to inspire and educate through Winterthur’s collection, estate, and academic programs. Established in 2024, Founder’s Circle provides essential support to Winterthur’s vibrant ecosystem by funding important acquisitions to the museum, garden, and library; the academic work of conservation, exhibition development, and scholarly research; and the ongoing preservation, restoration, and enhancement of the historic garden and estate.

Founder’s Circle donors enjoy exceptional access and opportunities for learning and engagement with fellow Winterthur patrons, including:

Invitations to exclusive donor events, receptions, and academic programs
Invitation to the Founder’s Circle Annual Meeting
Privileged access to the Delaware Antiques Show
Special access to Winterthur’s senior staff members through private tours and general advisement from curators, horticulturists, librarians, conservators, and educators
Exclusive travel opportunities to premier historic sites, private collections, and gardens led by Winterthur staff members and experts
Subscription to the Founder’s Circle newsletter
Free admission to the museum, garden, and estate
10% discount on shopping and dining at Winterthur
Fully tax-deductible annual contributions

Each contribution to Founder’s Circle will be divided equally into four shares to support the museum, garden, library, and general operations. Founder’s Circle patrons may also choose to support a particular aspect of Winterthur, in which case the contribution will be split evenly between the museum, garden, or library and general operations.

Donor Levels

$2,500–$4,999

All advantages of Founder’s Circle, including invitations to exclusive donor events, receptions, and academic programs, plus the opportunity to invite two guests to the Founder’s Circle Annual Meeting

$5,000–$9,999

All advantages of Founder’s Circle at the $2,500–$4,999 level, plus general advisement from Winterthur experts regarding personal collections, gardens, and conservation efforts, together with a one-year subscription to Winterthur Portfolio: A Journal of American Material Culture, published three times a year for Winterthur by the University of Chicago Press

$10,000–$24,999

All advantages of Founder’s Circle at the $5,000–$9,999 level, plus the opportunity to schedule a personalized tour of the Winterthur collection, garden, or library with senior staff members followed by a cocktail reception

$25,000 and Above

All advantages of Founder’s Circle at the $10,000–$24,999 level, plus the opportunity to schedule a private dinner with Winterthur’s director and senior staff members for your household and six guests

Give Today

For more information, please contact the Founder’s Circle office at 302.888.4878 or contributions@winterthur.org.

Image: Aaron Shikler (1922–2015), Henry Francis du Pont, 1965. Oil on canvas. Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont 1970.0561 A, B. Photo: Lois Mauro.

Prescribed Burn Ignites Life at Winterthur

Tendrils of haze drifted across a meadow at Winterthur on a cool morning in early March…a familiar sight after a wet and misty winter. But this was not water vapor rising from a thawing field. It was smoke from vegetation set ablaze on the grounds of the estate.

Winterthur’s Arboriculture and Natural Lands team, in collaboration with the Winterthur Fire Department, had embarked on a journey of rejuvenation through prescribed burning. A marshy meadow along the back drive and a slice of the East Barn wetlands were consumed by controlled flames, dancing with the promise of renewal.

*Smoke rises as the fire does its purifying work.*

Prescribed burning is not an inferno driven capriciously by the availability of tinder and the arrival of a spark and wind. In fact, Kevin Braun, supervisor of arboriculture and natural lands, had even delayed the recent managed blaze by one day due to the possibility of high winds.

A prescribed burn is not about wanton destruction but rather strategic land management.

“Controlled burns are akin to nature’s reset button, benefiting wildlife, combating invasive species, and fostering the growth of native flora,” Braun said. It’s like giving Mother Nature a spa day, complete with a detox and facial.

*Kevin Braun, supervisor of arboriculture and natural lands, second from left, coordinates a prescribed burn at Winterthur.*

Our estate is a tapestry of habitats, and these prescribed burns serve as catalysts for biodiversity. Think of it as an open invitation to avian friends like the eastern bluebird, red-winged blackbird, and eastern meadowlark, beckoning them to nestle in our replenished grasslands.

Birds aren’t the only ones RSVPing to the targeted areas. Native pollinators like monarch butterflies and industrious bees eagerly flit among native meadow flowers and grasses, which flourish in the aftermath of a well-executed burn.

And it’s not just about the birds and the bees. By bidding adieu to thatch (the pesky buildup of cut grass), we’re liberating our meadow plants from suffocation and ensuring that vital nutrients aren’t held hostage beneath a blanket of dry grass. It’s like spring cleaning for the soul of the land, clearing away the clutter to make room for new growth and vitality.

There are practical benefits, too. “The areas we set ablaze aren’t exactly the friendliest to mowers,” Braun added. Marshy meadows and soggy wetlands make for treacherous terrain when it comes to traditional land management techniques. The process also minimizes the spread of pests and plant diseases.

With prescribed burning, we’re reclaiming these inaccessible spaces, transforming them into havens of biodiversity and beauty. So, as the smoke dissipates and the embers fade, what remains is not just charred earth, but a promise—a promise of vibrant ecosystems, thriving fauna, and a landscape teeming with life. Here at Winterthur, we’re not afraid to embrace the flames, for we know that within their flickering dance lies the secret to renewal and regeneration.

*The burn is carefully tended throughout the process.*

Point-to-Point returns for 46th year

WINTERTHUR, DE (March 13, 2024) – The 46th Annual Point-to-Point Races—with thrilling steeplechase horse races, an unparalleled tailgating atmosphere, delightful parades, and family fun—will take over the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library estate on May 5.

Tailgate parking spaces and event wristbands are on sale now. For more information and to purchase, visit winterthur.org/PTP. The Point-to-Point web page details pre-event offers, contests, hospitality tents, and more. The page will be updated periodically as the event approaches.

The sights and sounds of Point-to-Point will thrill spectators while the Winterthur Hunt area will entertain with games and activities for all ages. Point-to-Point is Winterthur’s largest annual fundraising event.

Proceeds from this year’s Point-to-Point support key environmental and landscape stewardship initiatives such as Winterthur’s Natural Lands program managing woodland, meadow, and wetland habitats throughout the estate; preservation of the Winterthur Garden; and initiatives to invite members and visitors to enjoy almost 1,000 acres of conserved land.

Tailgate Parking Spaces and Tailgate Tents

Tailgate parking spaces start at $300, and tailgate parking tents start at $750; both include four adult guest wristbands. Additional tailgate wristbands are available for purchase: $60 Guest; $30 Under 21; Children under 10 free, wristband required.

Member Wristbands

Winterthur Members can pack a picnic and join us on Members Hill for the races. Individual Member wristbands are $60 and can be purchased online.

Parking Options

Guest parking is free for wristband holders. Shorten your walk by purchasing closer parking. Premium Parking North $25/car; Premium Parking South $50/car (limited quantities).

ABOUT WINTERTHUR MUSEUM, GARDEN & LIBRARY

Winterthur—known worldwide for its preeminent collection of American decorative arts, naturalistic garden, and research library for the study of American art and material culture— offers a variety of tours, exhibitions, programs, and activities throughout the year.

Winterthur is located on Route 52, six miles northwest of Wilmington, Delaware, and five miles south of U.S. Route 1. Winterthur is committed to accessible programming for all. For information, including special services, call 800.448.3883 or visit winterthur.org.

Alexandra Cade and Tommy Dougherty

About the Artists

Alexandra Cade is a Ph.D. candidate in the history of American civilization at the University of Delaware. An interdisciplinary scholar and musician, Cade studies the material culture of music, performance, and tourism in the early 19th-century Atlantic World. She has worked at the Sigal Music Museum and Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and has undertaken fellowships through Winterthur, the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, and the Classical American Homes Preservation Trust. Cade received her bachelor of music in viola performance from the Eastman School of Music and her master of arts degree from the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, where she completed her thesis on amateur-made antebellum American pianos.

Social Media: @ConcertoChick

Tommy Dougherty is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is a violinist and composer of orchestral, chamber, and solo works. The Orchestra of St. Luke’s recently premiered a new work by Tommy through his participation in the DeGaetano Composition Institute, where he worked closely with mentor composer Anna Clyne. His music has been performed by the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, the Modern Violin Ensemble, and Alarm Will Sound, and he is the recipient of three ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards. Tommy currently lives in San Diego where he plays with the San Diego Symphony.

Website: TSDoughertyComposer.com

The Winterthur Suite and Ruth’s Fugue | Chinese Parlor

The fugue composed by Ruth du Pont is the most complete of her musical creations. Trained in piano at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Ruth found joy and solace in playing and listening to music. While seeking inspiration for their own Winterthur composition, Allie Cade and Tommy Dougherty found Ruth’s fugue in the archives. This became the inspiration for the final movement of The Winterthur Suite. You can hear this movement in the Chinese Parlor on the introductory tour of the house rooms.

Beginning June 8, you can listen to the full version of The Winterthur Suite in the Transformations exhibition.

The Winterthur Suite | Galleries

The Winterthur Suite merges aural and haptic reactions to six selected objects and spaces from across the Winterthur collection and grounds. Drawing inspiration from art-based compositions in the Western musical canon, like Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (1874), our work endeavors to encourage new reactions to the familiar by forging radical sensory connections with our audience. We asked: what could we learn if we listened to objects or environments in a space like Winterthur? Looking to the warp and weft of a sampler, the crystalline lyricism of a glass flask, or the clean and methodical lines of Shaker furniture, we worked to translate the tactile into sound. By forging these novel sonic relationships, we hope to begin a conversation of multisensory refractions through The Winterthur Suite.

The Radish Project

About the Artists

Dan Feinberg
Paint Lick, Kentucky

Dr. Mary Parr
Berea, Kentucky

Although the Radish Project came to Winterthur as a result of conversations that began while Dan Feinberg was in residence as a Winterthur Maker-Creator Fellow, this project is intensely collaborative. Planting beds are located in and beyond Delaware, acting as remote sites of a unified project to bring attention to environmental challenges such as over paving, flooding, drainage, and water quality. Radishes planted in patterns break pavement that is no longer needed and create better drainage.

The Radish Project is currently on view in the Empire Parlor. Additional installations related to the radish project will be on display in the Galleries Reception Area and in the Galleries from June 8, 2024 to January 5, 2025.

Artist Statement

Repeating patterns, like those found in wallpapers, textiles, and other objects, inspired the planting designs and the radish “avatars” created in the Radish Project and seen in the Winterthur house, Galleries Reception area, and here in the Galleries. Using familiar things like wallpaper can help viewers connect to the environmental messages of the project that can otherwise seem distant or hidden from sight.

Planting Together

Below is a list of people whose labor has constituted the project’s development and ongoing life. There are others who contributed along the way who wish to remain anonymous or whose names we were unable to record.

Ali Alberta, Janee Amig, Prince Aminu, Marisa Angel, Emily Bach, Sol Baumgartner, Emily Beeber, Sophie Bell, Julia Bouwkamp, Benét Burton, Julian Clark, Kim Collison, Christian Cooter, Amy Curry, Catherine Cyr, Catharine Dann Roeber, Ted Davis, Meghan Doherty, Brian Eisenhauer, MJ Embree, Avery Fair, Dan Feinberg, Kelly Fu, Robert Garland, Janea Garner, Jena Gilbert-Merrill, Irwin Goldman, Nicholas Goodwin, David Govatski, Phil Griffiths, Steve Groff, Thomas Guiler, Collin Hadsell, Julia Hamer-Light, John Hayes, Scott Heggen, Autumn Heil, Ann Hewitt, Sylvia Hickman, Inna Horbovtsova, Margaret Hughes, James Hutzenbiler, Alexandra Izzard, Elaheh Jamal, i Rachael Kane, Clint King, Dasha Likhacheva, Alex Lopez Guzman, Austin Losada, Haritha Malladi, Chris Malone, Lisa Mangin, Molly Mapstone, Chase Markee, Madeline Markert, Megan Markert, Kit Martin, Daisy Martin, Cody Mitchell, River Moon, Aaron Morris, Concepta Njolima, Kara Norris, Emmy Norris, Quinn Norris, Sam O’Hara, Laura Ochoa Rincon, Andrew Oles, Jocelyn Paradis, Mary Parr, Moriah Peña, Rob Plankinton, Isaac Renner, Katrina Reynolds, Riley Richards, Kimberly Ritchie, Katie Roach, Elizabeth Roeber, Naomi Sabotnick, John Salata, Lenny Santiago-Bautista, Devin Santos, Betsy Schley, Ethan Snyder, Chloe Soliday, Richard Stout, Chris Strand, Naomi Subotnick, Kendall Sullivan, Emi Torres-Vera, Heidi Underbakke, Natasha Vadas, Amy Villamagna, Nathan Wiley, Meg Wilson, Megan Wolverton, Students in Conversations in Sustainability at Plymouth State, Fall 2022, Winterthur Garden staff and Natural Lands staff.

It’s Electric! New Tram a First for Winterthur

Winterthur staff recently enjoyed a serene journey around the estate aboard the museum’s inaugural—and pleasantly quiet—electric tram.

Priced at just over $70,000, the electric tram comes with a significant advantage: it’s approximately 40 percent cheaper than its gas-powered counterpart. During a recent test run with various staff taking turns on board, the tram gracefully traversed the garden paths for three hours, utilizing only half of its battery charge.

Eileen Scheck, manager of tour programs, said staff affectionately dubbed the tram “EVelina.”

The name was chosen, not just because of the play on the term “EV” for “electric vehicle,” but also for du Pont ancestor Evelina Gabrielle du Pont Bidermann (1796-1863), the first generation of du Ponts to garden at Winterthur.

Plans are underway to procure more electric trams if EVelina proves to be a success.

Charging EVelina is a breeze, with dedicated outlets conveniently located in a barn on the estate. With Winterthur boasting 118 buildings across nearly 1,000 acres, this strategic placement ensures easy access for maintenance and charging, said John Castle, director of facilities services.

Scheck praised EVelina’s agility, noting its narrower frame effortlessly navigated the estate’s winding pathways and Garden Lane. It’s a seamless addition to Winterthur’s fleet, which now includes six vehicles for guided tours: four gas-powered trams, one wheelchair-accessible garden bus, and EVelina.

“The introduction of our electric-powered tram enhances the multi-sensory experience of our open-air tours,” remarked Scheck. “Visitors can now engage fully in the sights, sounds, and scents of the garden, making for an unforgettable journey.”

With EVelina leading the charge, Winterthur continues to embrace innovation while preserving its rich heritage, offering visitors an eco-friendly and immersive way to explore the estate’s natural beauty.

The next time you come to explore our gardens on a guided Garden Tram Tour, be on the lookout for our very own electric tram and experience for yourself the gentle serenity of a ride aboard EVelina.

By the smiles on their faces, it seems Eileen Scheck, in the driver’s seat at left, and John Castle, in the rear-facing seat at the back of the new electric tram, enjoyed the recent test run of “EVelina.”

Richard Saja

About the Artist

Richard Saja is an artist making work in Catskill, New York. After first attending the University of the Arts in Philadelphia to study surface design, he devoted his studies to the great books of Western Civilization at St Johns College in Santa Fe, NM and received a BA as a math and philosophy major. After a brief stint working as an art director on Madison Avenue, all his interests coalesced and a small design firm, Historically Inaccurate Decorative Arts, was born in the early aughts and gradually evolved into a fine art practice.

Though he occasionally feels the need to explore avenues of expression beyond that of the needle, the majority of Saja’s work focuses on creating interferences on the formal patterns of French toile through embroidery.

He has exhibited internationally with shows in London, New York, Paris, Berlin and South Korea and will have a solo exhibition at the Toile de Jouy Museum in Jouy en Josas, France in 2023.

Evolving Utopia | Port Royal Parlor

Richard’s enduring love and fascination for textiles derives from the absolutely unlimited interplay of pattern, color and texture – there is no other medium where this trinity is so fully realized. He came up with the embellished toile concept while waking from sleep years ago. The original idea was to embroider Maori facial tattoos onto figures in the print but he soon discovered there were no toile prints available where that concept could be realized because of the relatively small scale of nearly all toile prints. He thus amended the concept slightly to include any and all embellishment. Historically, toile de Jouy is a print that through its dense repetition becomes anonymous. It’s a tabula rasa begging for context not unlike a child’s coloring book. The act of selectively embellishing small areas of it automatically inverts its historical usage: suddenly the anonymity of the print is broken and it evolves through its subversion which appeals greatly to Richard. With an economy of means, a whole new context is created. There is another story there, it just needs to be drawn out.

Samara Weaver

About the Artist

Samara grew up making artwork her whole life. Having an artist for a father deeply influenced her. Samara received a bachelor’s and master’s in architecture from Temple University which further enhanced her artistic abilities and added another layer of reasoning and functionality to her work. Through college she was also able to add other skills to her artistic repertoire, taking oil painting and glass blowing alongside architecture classes. Samara uses many different mediums, including paper, watercolor, clay (ceramic), wood, photography, glass, wool (felt), dyes, oil paint, and metal. Using these different mediums allows her to choose the best ones for the project she’s working on. Her work has been displayed at venues including the Delaware Contemporary, The MEzeanine Gallery, Delaware Art Museum, and the Blue Ball Barn.

Conception to Realization | Readbourne Stair Hall

Samara has always been fascinated with materiality, resulting in her artistic exploration of various materials, using them to explore texture, color, and perspective. She combines large numbers of smaller, often simple elements into multi-faceted compositions, gaining complexity and space from their combination. In Conception to Realization Samara drew inspiration from objects in Readbourne Stair Hall and Parlor—the undulating pattern of the Anna Maria Garthwaite –designed silk depicted in the gown Ann Shippen Willing wears in her portrait and the intricately rolled paper pieces in the quillwork sconces. The work also resonates with these Winterthur objects made by, or depicting women, drawing attention to the skill and creativity of women makers from the past and today.

Heather Ossandon

About the Artist

Heather Ossandon creates ceramics that reflect her distinct background. Throughout her career, she has traveled through Asia, Central America, Europe, and the United States exploring and researching ceramics. These experiences have cultivated techniques and methods that are incorporated into her studio practice. Focusing on functional pottery and sculptural still lifes, traditional practices and everyday objects take the spotlight of her work. Ossandon creates and lives in Baltimore, Maryland, and is a Professor of Art at Prince George’s Community College in Maryland. She has shown her artworks both nationally and internationally and is represented by M.T. Burton Gallery, New Jersey.

The Dinner Party | Du Pont Dining Room

Dishes with printed and painted decoration often encapsulate imagery of an idealized vision, a moment, or historical dramas. They are forever a curious and complicated object that exemplify the nuance of class, society, consumption, but also utility, ubiquity, and charm. Pink transfer-printed dishes adorning a pine cupboard that Henry Francis du Pont credited as inspiration for beginning a collection became the starting point for the “The Dinner Party” installation.

The details of the miniature narratives found on these pink ceramics such as Abbey Ruins, European Landscape, and Willow Pattern were used to create a newly formed ceramic assemblage. The motifs and imagery that pepper the table create a playful vision of that stretches somewhere between the 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional world. The assemblage was intended to be a puzzle of sorts, inviting the viewers to dissect and discover objects hidden within.

Sharon Williams

Gee’s Bend Quilt | Montmorenci Stair Hall

Sharon and Jemica Williams are part of a community of quilters from Gee’s Bend (also known as Boykin), Alabama. Sharon learned to quilt from her mother and grandmother, and passed on this tradition with her daughter, Jemica. The quiltmakers in Boykin are well-known for making colorful patchwork designs that embody creativity, beauty and resilience. While museums and private collectors around the world have owned and showcased Gee’s Bend quilts for decades, the remote location of Boykin made direct sales from the quilters difficult. However, recent support from Nest, a nonprofit promoting greater gender equity and economic inclusion for makers, connected the quilters with Etsy where they can sell to customers around the world.