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Du Pont's America
American Vision
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He loved his home. That defines Henry Francis du Pont (1880-1969), who was born at Winterthur in 1880 and the only son of Henry Algernon du Pont and Pauline Foster. Throughout his life Henry Francis du Pont collected Americana and turned Winterthur into a showpiece and later a museum. |
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His artistic eye was so well-respected that from 1961-1963 at the request of then First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, du Pont oversaw the White House renovation, and was noted for clashing with the Interior Designer, Stéphane Boudin. |
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Winterthur was an American country estate and is located in the picturesque Brandywine Valley in Delaware. It is now a museum, garden and library that was first opened to the public in 1951. |
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American Vision celebrates Henry Francis du Pont. It is a traveling exhibit currently on view at the Mint Museum of Art. The exhibit features over 300 masterpieces from Winterthur’s collection of 85,000 objects. These include furniture, textiles, paintings, prints and drawings, ceramics, glass and metalwork, all made or used in America between 1640 and 1860. |
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Title: Chest,
Berks County Pennsylvania, 1765-1810
Museum purchase 955.95.1
Courtesy Winterthur Photo Gavin Ashworth
Image Courtesy: The Mint Museum of Art
“This exhibition tells the story of American taste, using the masterpieces of the Winterthur collection,” said Dr. Barbara Perry, the Mint’s Curator of Decorative Arts. “These are unique objects, illustrating the best of American craftsmanship up to 1860. We are most grateful to Winterthur for sending their exceptional collection to the Mint Museum of Art.”
Title: Sugar Box, Boston 1702
Artist: Edward Winslow (American 1669-1753)
Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont 1959.3363
Courtesy Winterthur Photo Gavin Ashworth
Image Courtesy: The Mint Museum of Art
Highlights of American Vision include the sugar box made by Boston silversmith Edward Winslow. It is an elaborate piece of American silver that was given to Daniel Oliver (1664-1732) and Elizabeth Belcher (1678-1735) in 1702 upon the birth of their son. Thanks to du Pont's interest in Americana and collecting often the provenance of the pieces are known.
Title: The Edward Lloyd Family, Maryland, 1771
Artist: Charles Willson Peale (American 1741-1827)
Museum purchase 1964.124
Courtesy Winterthur
Image Courtesy: The Mint Museum of Art
Charles Willson Peale, the popular American portraitist, was born in Queen Anne's County, Maryland. He was a great admirer of the USA's foremost portraitist John Singleton Copley. Peale's work was popular among the Annapolis well-to-do. These patrons financed a trip in 1767 enabling the artist to study with fellow American artist Benjamin West who was then working in London on a commission from King George III to paint several members of the British Royal Family. Peale returned to Annapolis.
The Lloyd Family portrait is very typical of Peale's style of family harmony. The ability to commission a portrait signified wealth. The sitters had the opportunity to have the portrait tell their story, such as their clear interest in music from the instrument in the mother's lap, and their ability to purchase luxurious goods and fabrics from the clothing selected for the painting.
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The inclusion of artworks from John Trumbull were an important inclusion in du Pont's Americana collection. Trumbull was successful in rendering the people and scenes of the American Civil War. The back of the U.S. two-dollar bill used Trumbull's Declaration of Independence. This Trumbull portrait, Washington at Verplank's Point, New York, was considered to be the 'most perfect likeness' ever captured of George Washington. |
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Winterthur displayed the wealth of it's owner for example, the items illustrated in the du Pont Dining Room. Though an avid Americana collector many pieces were from foreign countries. |
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Title: Bowl, China; 1785-1810
Medium: Porcelain
1961.1427 Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont
Courtesy Winterthur Photo
Image Courtesy: The Mint Museum of Art
Chinese porcelain bowls were expensive and a sign of status. They were brought to the USA by both European and American traders.
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Winterthur has added to the du Pont collection with purchases of notable items made by master craftsmen such as Josiah Wedgwood. |
Title: Card table, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 1765-1780
Medium: Mahogany, oak, cedar 1960.1059 Gift of Henry Francis du Pont
Title: Looking glass
Attributed to James Reynolds (1736-1794)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 1770-1771
Medium: Pine, poplar; glass 1952.261 Gift of Henry Francis du Pont
Title: "Grand Platt Menage"
Staffordshire or Yorkshire, England; 1775-1790
Medium: Cream-colored earthenware 2000.5
Museum purchase with funds provided by Collectors Circle
Courtesy Winterthur; Photo Gavin Ashworth
Title: Sconces
Probably London or Birmingham, England; 1760-1780
Medium: Brass 1957.126.26, 1957.126.27 Museum purchase
Courtesy Winterthur Photo Gavin Ashworth
Image Courtesy: The Mint Museum of Art
American Vision includes the major style periods and themes that mark Henry Francis du Pont’s skills as a collector featuring English, European and Asian pieces alongside Americana.
An American Vision
Decorative Arts from Henry Francis du Pont’s Winterthur Museum
The Mint Museum of Art:
June 30 - September 23, 2007