A beautifully restored 19th-century grist mill along the Brandywine River is the setting for the Brandywine River Museum, about 45 minutes from Philadelphia. Inside, visitors are treated to classic examples of American art by Andrew Wyeth, his father N.C. Wyeth, and his son James. Tours are also offered to nearby locations that provide additional insight into the lives of this family of artists.
N.C. Wyeth the Illustrator
Newel Convers Wyeth first came to Chadds Ford as a student under artist and teacher Howard Pyle, where he learned the art of illustration under Pyle’s tutelage. Wyeth was given commissions to illustrate Saturday Evening Post covers and classic adventure tales such as Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and The Last of the Mohicans. Many of these breath-taking paintings, which were made into color plates for the illustration work, are displayed in the N.C. Wyeth Gallery of the museum. Other works by artists from The Brandywine School as it became known, including those by Maxfield Parish and Frank Schoonover, are also part of the museum’s collection.
Andrew Wyeth the Realist
Andrew, N.C. Wyeth’s youngest son, is recognized as the foremost American realist and one of the most well known painters in the history of American art. While many of his watercolor and egg tempera paintings are featured in prestigious museums throughout the United States, a large collection of his work occupies the Brandywine River Museum’s third floor gallery. Visitors to the gallery can see a constantly changing display of his classic paintings and more recent works by the iconic artist who continues to paint into his nineties. The collection also features some of the famous “Helga” paintings that were secretly created over a fifteen year span of the artist’s career.
Jamie Wyeth, Painter of Portraits and Animals
The work of Andrew’s son, James, more commonly known as Jamie, also graces the Brandywine River Museum. The multi-talented artist has been given noteworthy commissions such as a posthumous portrait of John F. Kennedy and two of the official White House Christmas cards. The museum has exhibited many of Jamie’s portraits, including a series of ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev. Jamie is perhaps best known, however, for his portraits of animals, such as ravens, dogs, and a famous pig. His Portrait of a Pig spans seven feet by five feet and is the delight of school children as well as adults who visit the museum.
Tours Provide Glimpses of the Wyeth Home and Andrew’s Inspiration
In addition to the three floors of galleries and walking trails along the banks of the slowly meandering river, the Brandywine River Museum offers tours of the N.C. Wyeth house and studio, and the Kuerner Farm. As a teenager, Andrew Wyeth befriended Karl Kuerner and his family, whose nearby farm was the inspiration for nearly 1,000 of his paintings. Visitors will be reminded of well known works like Groundhog Day, Evening at Kuerners, and Spring Fed as they tour the farmhouse and grounds with their guide. Each of the tours lasts approximately one hour.
The Brandywine River Museum is located on U.S. Route 1 in Chadds Ford, PA. Hours are daily from 9:30 a.m. - 4:30p.m. except Christmas day. Cost of the tours to the N.C. Wyeth house and studio, and to the Kuerner Farm, are in addition to the regular museum admission.
