CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Winterthur, an American country estate located in Delaware’s picturesque Brandywine Valley, is widely known for its museum, garden and library. Open to the public since 1951, it displays Henry Francis du Pont’s (1880-1969) magnificent collection of American decorative arts. In celebration of Winterthur’s 50th anniversary in 2001, an exhibition of the rarest and most renowned objects from the museum’s collection was organized for the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Now, some of Winterthur’s most prized possessions are on traveling exhibition. An American Vision: Henry Francis du Pont's Winterthur Museum will be on view at the Mint Museum of Art from June 30 through September 23, 2007.

This installation will present more than 300 masterpieces from Winterthur’s collection of 85,000 objects, including furniture, textiles, paintings, prints and drawings, ceramics, glass and metalwork, all made or used in America between 1640 and 1860.

“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.”

The exhibition will focus on major style periods and themes that mark Henry Francis du Pont’s accomplishments as a collector. Several themes will run through each section, including documented works signed or labeled by their makers; English, European and Asian sources of inspiration; and the uniquely American aspects of the works on view.

Exhibition Organization

The exhibition will focus on major style periods and themes that mark Henry Francis du Pont's accomplishments as a collector. Several themes will run through each section, including documented works signed or labeled by their makers; English, European, and Asian sources of inspiration; and the uniquely American aspects of the works on view.

Early Settlement and Sophistication: The first gallery in the exhibition will explore the decorative arts of the earliest settlers in colonial America. Many of these works are reminiscent of mannerist and late Renaissance designs that were popular in England and the Netherlands at the time. The centerpiece of this section, an impressive 1680 court cupboard from Essex County, Massachusetts, will display fine examples of silver, pewter, and ceramic objects.

Passion for Rococo: The works in this section will include outstanding pieces created by mid-18th Century artisans working in urban centers such as Philadelphia, Charleston, and Boston, in a style commonly called Chippendale after the English craftsman whose design books helped disseminate a taste for extravagant curves and ornamentation. A particular favorite of H. F. du Pont, objects in this style conveyed true status and beauty, often rivaling foreign products. A magnificent 1769 mahogany high chest (8 feet high, with gilded hardware) and the matching dressing table and chair made en suite for Michael and Miriam Gratz of Philadelphia will be on view, as will seven major paintings by preeminent American artists of the day.

East Meets West: The influence of China on 18th-century American design captivated du Pont. He collected both objects that were imported from the East by wealthy colonials and those produced by European and English craftsmen who interpreted the Oriental motifs in their own fashion. Among the items brought to America from China were towering porcelain pagodas and enormous dinner sets of individually monogrammed porcelain made specifically for export to Europe and America. Hand-painted and printed cottons produced in India were among the most popular and influential exports from the East. Among Western interpretations of Oriental designs in the exhibition are a brilliantly lacquered, or japanned, Boston high chest of drawers circa 1750 and a side chair, also from Boston.

The Arts of the Pennsylvania Germans: Among the earliest collecting interests of H. F. du Pont and one of the great strengths of the Winterthur collection are the colorful decorative arts of the German settlers of eastern Pennsylvania. This section offers cupboards filled with boldly decorated pottery, chests painted and inlaid with symbolic images of flowers and birds, woven coverlets and quilts, and illuminated manuscripts called fraktur, which served as paper records of births, marriages, and house blessings. Such objects, made by and for these rural communities, document various aspects of their daily lives and the wealth of their cultural heritage.

American Classicism: The last section in the exhibition displays the brilliance of the classical revival in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as colonials became Americans and created their own patriotic heroes reinterpreted from French and English versions of Greek and Roman designs. One such hero was George Washington, who was depicted in scores of textiles, ceramics, paintings, and other decorative objects from this period. These images of America's first president, including John Trumbull's renowned painting Washington at Verplanck's Point (1790), reinforced the concept of democracy and the birth of a new nation.

A final vignette in the exhibition, taken from the Du Pont Dining Room at Winterthur, demonstrates H. F. du Pont's quest for objects with historical significance and his genius for arranging works with relation to color, proportion, and composition. A spectacular 1790 New York sideboard is adorned with six matching tankards made by Boston silversmith Paul Revere in 1772, two mahogany urn-shaped knife cases owned originally by wealthy merchant Elias Hasket Derby, and a selection of exquisite pieces of Chinese porcelain made for the American market. Above the sideboard hangs Benjamin West's important unfinished painting American Commissioners of the Preliminary Peace Negotiations with Great Britain (1783-1784), a scene which heralds the official conclusion of the American Revolution.

The Mint Museums are supported, in part, with a Basic Operating Grant from the Arts & Science Council, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Inc.; the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of North Carolina and the National Endowment for the Arts; the City of Charlotte; and their members. The Mint Museum of Art is located at 2730 Randolph Road in Charlotte. Visit : www.themintmuseums.org