Catalyst Fall–Winter 2023 by Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art

BRANDYWINE

CATALYST FALL–WINTER 2023. VOLUME 51. NUMBER 2

November 18–January 7 A holiday favorite since 1972, the Brandywine Railroad offers something for everyone with its dazzling array of both toy and scale model trains. Book your tickets at Brandywine.org/Trains Support for the Brandywine Railroad is provided by The Davenport Family Foundation Fund for Exhibitions, Chase, and James S. Herr Family Foundation.

IN THIS ISSUE: 5

Member Spotlight

Rooted: Family and Nature in Contemporary Children’s Book Illustration

A Conservation Mindset

Jamie Wyeth: Unsettled

Landowner Stewardship Program

Brandywine Flood Study

A Peek Inside Abstract Flash: Unseen Andrew Wyeth

Allan Freelon: Painter, Printmaker, Teacher

More to Love & Learn at the Brandywine

Recipe from the Millstone Café

Events Calendar

Holiday Critter Sale

Memorials & Tributes

Catalyst is published semi-annually by the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art, a public charity founded in 1967. It is sent free to all members. Questions may be directed to Marketing & Communications, P.O. Box 141, Chadds Ford, PA 19317. © 2023 Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art. Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art is registered with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania under the provision of Act No. 1990-202. Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act. A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll-free, within PA (800) 732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.

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This publication is printed on paper manufactured from 10% recycled fibers certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

PARDON OUR APPEARANCE: Major Renovations Coming Soon! Over the coming months and year ahead,

the Brandywine Museum of Art will be undergoing renovation projects to improve the visitor experience, including creating more spaces where the public can gather. During this time, there will be ongoing construction activity in and surrounding the Museum’s courtyard and perimeter, including the walkway leading up to the existing courtyard entrance gates. We appreciate your patience as we undergo this disruptive, but vital work. As you’ll recall, our former lecture room, educational classroom, and ADA-accessible entrance—all on the lower level below our first-floor gallery, lobby, and Café—were heavily damaged by the historic flooding caused by Hurricane Ida in 2021, including critical mechanical systems that have since been replaced and relocated to higher ground above the flood level. This significant loss of public space has severely impacted Brandywine’s capacity to host in-person lectures, educational programs, and special events.

To replace these lost functions, the Museum is working simultaneously on two projects. One is a complete renovation of our courtyard space designed by Cooper Robertson, a New York-based architectural firm, in cooperation with Tevebaugh Architecture, that will include new, level paving (our beloved Belgian block stones will be retained for later use) which will more easily and flexibly accommodate educational programs, special events, and rental opportunities. The courtyard will also be larger and feature integrated lighting for evening events, native plantings— designed by Olin, a Philadelphia-based landscape architectural firm—and a new permanent ADA entrance ramp that will provide greater accessibility to all our visitors and, from a standpoint of design, be more harmonious to the Mill building.

welcome over 100 people for a variety of uses, including lectures and special performances. Additionally, and on a longer timetable, we will be undertaking what is called a flood-hardening process to make the lower level of the Museum watertight. In this complex engineering procedure, openings of any kind, including windows, doors, and vents will be removed; structural reinforcement and waterproof material will be applied to the building interior to withstand the pressure from future flood waters; and the foundation anchored to resist buoyancy. All of this work is vital in ensuring that the Museum will be better prepared for more frequent and severe floods in the years ahead, so that we can remain focused on safeguarding our renowned collection and creating the highest-possible visitor experience.

Inside the Museum we are also creating—out of former office spaces—a state-of-the-art multi-purpose room with floor-to-ceiling windows providing a spectacular view out over the Brandywine Creek. This beautiful space will be able to

We look forward to sharing more details on these exciting projects in upcoming member communications and on Brandywine’s website. n Above: Courtyard rendering, looking south, by Cooper Robertson and OLIN.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Left: Jeffrey Michael Patrick (left) and Burt Wilson (right) Above: David Ellinger (1913–2003), Mocha Pitcher Still Life, c. 1940s, oil on canvas. © David Ellinger

The Brandywine Museum of Art recently

added two new acquisitions to its permanent collection thanks to Brandywine member Burt Wilson, who gifted the works in memory of his late husband, Jeffrey Michael Patrick. Burt, a consultant, grew up in southeastern Connecticut and attended the University of Delaware. He met Jeffrey, an Oxford native, in 2005 and they were married in 2016. Jeffrey was a “social butterfly” who, in addition to a long career in food service, would volunteer his time to many causes that were important to him. Burt and Jeffrey both enjoyed traveling and hosting friends and family at their home to taste-test Jeffrey’s many “culinary experiments”—or to get takeout if the experiment didn’t turn out as planned! Burt and Jeffrey were frequent visitors to the Brandywine, often stopping in during the holiday season to see the train display, which Jeffrey could watch for hours. “He always found something he could connect with,” Burt says. For many

years, their annual Christmas card would feature a photograph that Jeffrey took of something interesting he saw at the Brandywine that year. The Museum was truly a special place for them. Just one month before their 16th anniversary, Jeffrey passed away on April 20, 2021, from complications related to a liver transplant. Before his passing, friends and family asked Jeffrey how he would like to be honored, and he asked that donations be made to the Brandywine Museum of Art in his memory. “It was all Jeff ’s idea,” Burt remembers. Rallied together by their shared love of Jeffrey, friends and family raised funds to purchase two paintings by Pennsylvania artist David Ellinger (1913-2004): Amish School (ca. 1940s) and Mocha Pitcher Still Life (ca. 1940s). “They are both so different and so Jeff,” Burt says about the paintings. In particular, Amish School spoke to Burt, as it is very similar to a painting in the Delaware Art Museum’s collection that his hus-

band enjoyed and had a print of hanging in their home. And in the vibrant work titled Mocha Pitcher Still Life, the Staffordshire dog figurine sitting on a table and sporting a whimsical personality immediately reminded Burt of his late husband. Both paintings are now part of Brandywine’s permanent collection and will include a tribute to Jeffrey whenever they are displayed, ensuring that his memory lives on in the Museum. “That speaks to what Brandywine does so well,” Burt says. “It’s more than just a painting on the wall.” To learn more about making a gift to Brandywine in memory of a loved one, please visit www.brandywine.org/support or contact the Development Office at 610-388-8341. n Want to share the spotlight? Contact our Membership department for details on how you can be featured in our next issue of Catalyst. Email us at membership@brandywine.org. 5

ROOTED:

FAMILY AND NATURE IN CONTEMPORARY CHILDREN’S BOOK ILLUSTRATION On view through February 28, 2024

Now on view at the Brandywine, this exhibi-

tion explores the enduring bonds of nature and family through a lively selection of original artwork created for illustrated children’s books. The diverse group of eight artists who created these works in turn have created a highly inclusive group of protagonists who in these books experience compelling moments in their everyday lives, whether it be finding appreciation for the wonders of nature or feeling joy in activities with family in the outdoors. Eight award-winning artists are represented in this major presentation, including Micha Archer, Sophie Blackall, Cozbi A. Cabrera, Joe Cepeda, Devon Holzwarth, Juana Martinez-Neal, Frank Morrison, and Qing Zhuang. Working in a variety of materials—encompassing acrylic, oil, watercolor, pastels, colored pencils, linocuts, woodcuts, ink, and collage—the illustrators demonstrate a rich visual creativity that energizes the pages of the books. To make the exhibition even more engaging to children, the works of art have been installed at a lower height, ensuring that young visitors can be immersed in the vibrant scenes.

paintings by artists such as Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, and Jesse Willcox Smith. It also follows on the success of two earlier Brandywine exhibitions centered on children: Get the Picture: Contemporary Children's Book Illustration (2016) and Holidays & Snow Days: Illustrations for Three Children's Books (2018–19). Through projects like these and a robust slate of programming geared toward children and families, the Brandywine is committed to developing and nurturing the next generation of museum goers. A series of virtual and in-person educational programs for

Rooted will include hands-on activities as well as storytelling with some of the featured artists, who will also discuss how their illustrations animate the stories and how essential they are to creating a mood. The exhibition is co-curated by Shadra Strickland, an award-winning artist and chair of illustration at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, and Audrey Lewis, associate curator at the Brandywine, known for such major exhibitions as Exalted Nature: The Real and Fantastic World of Charles E. Burchfield and Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect.

Rooted is a continuation of the rich tradition of illustration that is so well represented in Brandywine's collection beginning early in the twentieth century with Left: Devon Holzwarth, “Love", said Daddy. "Love makes a family,” soft pastel, gouache, color pencil, (from Papa, Daddy, & Riley, written by Seamus Kirst, illustrated by Devon Holzwarth, Magination Press, Washington, DC, 2020).

Above: Micha Archer, Is rain the days tears, acrylic and collage (from Wonder Walkers, written and illustrated by Micha Archer, New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, imprint of Penguin Random House, 2021). 7

Get to Know the Featured Artists: Micha Archer is an artist, illustrator, and

educator. She has received many awards for her work, including a Caldecott Honor for Wonder Walkers, which was both written and illustrated by Archer. Her illustrations capture the sense of wonder and curiosity felt by two children as they explore nature, asking questions like “Is the sun the world’s light bulb?” and “Are shells the shore’s necklace?”. Sophie Blackall is a two-time Caldecott

award-winning author and illustrator of over 50 books for children. In Farmhouse (2022), Blackall tells a story based on a real-life family who long ago occupied a farmhouse and dairy farm in the Catskills of New York. Using hand-collaged elements—such as printed wallpaper, old photographs, and remnants of clothes that Blackall salvaged after she purchased the property—she imagines their daily lives in exquisite detail. Cozbi A. Cabrera is an author, illustrator,

doll maker, and clothes designer. Me & Mama (2020) was written and illustrated by Cabrera and was a winner of a 2021 Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King Award Honor for Illustration. The story and images vividly celebrate a mother and young daughter as they spend a rainy day together enjoying simple but meaningful activities both in their home and outside. Joe Cepeda is an award-winning illustra-

tor of more than 30 books for children and serves as the president of the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles. He is the author and illustrator for Rafa Counts on Papá (2022), which tells the story of a father and son who share a love for numbers and measuring everything from how high their dog can jump to how far they can run. What is immeasurable, they find, is their love for each other. Cepeda’s vibrant, bold, and colorful illustrations capture the joyful, dynamic relationship between father and son.

Joe Cepeda, They climb exactly fourteen branches before they get to their favorite one, oil over acrylic on illustration board (from Rafa Counts on Papá, written and illustrated by Joe Cepeda, Boston and New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2022).

Devon Holzwarth is an illustrator, author,

and painter whose past awards include a Society of Illustrators gold medal and the Schneider Family Book Award. Her expressive illustrations for Papa, Daddy, & Riley (2020, written by Seamus Kirst) convey the love and closeness of Riley and her two dads. When Riley is asked by another child which one of her fathers is her real one, her dads help her understand that they are both her fathers and that families can look different in many ways but what makes them truly a family is the love they share together. Juana Martinez-Neal is an award-winning

author and illustrator whose Zonia’s Rain Forest (2021) focuses on a young Asháninka girl living in the Amazon rainforest of Peru who on one of her daily adventures encounters an area where many trees have been cut down. She worries about what will happen to her animal friends— the sloths, butterflies, and birds—who live in the forest. The book has received high praise for its environmental message and its exuberant illustrations which Martinez-Neal created with woodcut prints and ink and pencil drawn on homemade banana leaf paper that was crafted by indigenous Asháninka women.

Frank Morrison is a three-time Coretta Scott

King award-winning illustrator and author. His graffiti-based fine art is internationally renowned. In The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver (2020, written by Gene Barretta), Morrison beautifully illustrates the story of how the young botanist’s early love for nature and his curiosity inspired him to create his own garden which led him to his distinguished career as an agricultural scientist and inventor. Morrison’s lush oil paintings bring Carver’s powerful story to life for young readers. Qing Zhuang was born in China, emigrating

to the U.S. with her family at the age of seven. An illustrator, author, and elementary and middle school art teacher, she earned a B.F.A. in Illustration from Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, and a Master of Arts in Teaching from the School of Visual Arts, New York. Rainbow Shopping (2023) is her first writer-illustrator project and has been widely praised. Inspired by weekend grocery trips to Chinatown with her own mother, Zhuang creates a story that is both sweet and funny and reflects on how it feels to move to a completely new country. Through her bright and exuberant illustrations, rendered in color pencil, crayon, and watercolor, Zhuang captures the energy of New York City and the lively details of the bustling food market. n

Top row: Juana Martinez-Neal, She stops to talk with some chatty new neighbors, mixed media on hand made banana bark paper (from Zonia’s Rain Forest, written and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal (Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2021). Middle row, left to right: Sophie Blackall, And walking home with their rods and flies, they picked gnarled apples to turn into pies, collage and mixed media (from Farmhouse, written and illustrated by Sophie Blackall, Boston and New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2022). Frank Morrison, The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver cover image, oil on illustration board (from The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver, written by Gene Baretta, illustrated by Frank Morrison, New York: Katherine Tegan Books, division of Harper Collins, 2020). Cozbi A. Cabrera, Peekaboo, acrylic on illustration board (from Me & Mama, written and illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera, New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2020). Bottom row: Qing Zhuang, The train ride is long, pencil, colored pencil, watercolor and crayon (from Rainbow Shopping, written and illustrated by Qing Zhuang, New York: Holiday House, 2023).

A CONSERVATION MINDSET Revisiting Protected Lands in the King Ranch

Joy Slater at her farm in the King Ranch area.

Horseback riding is a lot like life—it’s all about finding ways to clear obstacles. Joy

Slater, a Brandywine Conservancy easement landowner, understands this better than most. In 1980, as a steeplechase rider, she became the first woman jockey to win the prestigious Maryland Hunt Cup timber race. In 1981, she did it again. Then, in 1985, she cleared a different kind of hurdle and invested in the Brandywine Conservancy's 5,367-acre King Ranch preservation deal, buying 341 acres in West Marlborough Township, Chester County, PA. Her commitment to conservation has remained steadfast for four decades.

Joy’s property is a beautiful icon in the King Ranch area. The sign at the entrance of her property proclaims her farm’s name, “Fat Chance,” with a large sitting pig painted underneath. It’s this lovely quirkiness that defines Joy, whose name is a fitting reflection of her joyful personality. She does not tell you about all the hard work she puts into her days but instead greets you with a smile, reminding you to remember how lucky we are, and to always have fun. All the while she keeps her eye on the goal while still staying humble along the way.

The conservation easement on Joy’s farm limits development to approximately one house per 33 acres and protects the property’s important natural resources, including over two and half miles of tributaries to Doe Run, the headwaters to the West Branch of the Brandywine Creek; 108 acres of prime agricultural soils, the highest designation of productive farmland in the nation; and almost 80 acres of mature woodland. At the time she bought the farm, the King Ranch was one of only a handful of easements in the area. Today, there are over 41,000 contiguous acres of

easements surrounding her farm. Thanks to these voluntary actions by so many, the agrarian way of life in the greater Unionville area is protected forever. Recently, nearly four decades after conserving her property and protecting it from future development, Joy revisited the easement restrictions that were placed on her land and felt a strong desire to protect it even further beyond the original terms. She asked the Conservancy to amend the conservation easement to remove the remaining development rights on her property, which would strengthen and broaden its status as protected open space in perpetuity. “It’s just too special a place to break,” she said while looking out onto the

pastural valley. The Conservancy worked closely with Joy to review the remaining allowable development rights, and she chose what to remove. It was also a suitable time to revise the easement with modern language to bolster its integrity, ensuring her part of the easement continued to stay strong in perpetuity. Do you have a conservation easement on your property? The Conservancy is actively working with landowners to further protect their eased properties. Please contact the Brandywine’s John Goodall at jgoodall@brandywine.org if you would like to review your easement and explore ways to strengthen the language and remove further development rights. n

NEW BOOK

Where are the Cowboys?

Searching for the King Ranch Cowboys in Doe Run The history of the King Ranch in Unionville, PA comes alive with this exciting new publication. Author Kathleen Hood teamed up with the former King Ranch Cowboys and local artist Randall Graham to create a book that captures the essence of life on the ranch from the cowboys' perspective. Where are the Cowboys? provides factual information on the ranch operation, along with historic photos, and is sure to be enjoyed by the entire family. This limited-edition book can be purchased at the Brandywine Museum Shop or online at www.BrandywineMuseumShop.org.

SPECIAL OFFER! While supplies last, a special "Cowboy Critter," handmade by Brandywine's volunteers, can be purchased in-person with the book for an additional fee—a perfect add-on for those gifting the book to friends and family! All proceeds from the sale of this publication are donated to the Brandywine Conservancy.

JAMIE WYETH: UNSETTLED March 16–June 9, 2024

Sometimes we see something and, without conscious thought, get a certain chill that we may not understand. An intuitive red flag is

raised by our subconscious brain that warns us of impending danger. Across the decades of his career, artist Jamie Wyeth (b. 1946) has honed his attention onto these kinds of unnerving phenomena, zeroed in on uncanny experiences, and delved into a world of unsettled imagery. By marshaling a wide range of disconcerting elements—subjects, compositional approaches, and techniques—within his works, he has developed skillful, cinematic evocations. Equipped with these tools, Wyeth puts them to work to induce anxiety in nearly every viewer. Opening at the Brandywine on March 16, 2024, Jamie Wyeth: Unsettled is a focused look at the artist’s arresting, visceral imagery that will reveal fascinating insight into Wyeth and the art of visual storytelling.

Strangers and Specters As we enter Wyeth’s unsettling world, we find his strongest means of conjuring disquieting moods is perhaps via the straight-forward presentation of eccentric portraits. The subjects in Bean Boots (1985) and The Bones of a Whale (2006), for example, conjure strikingly strong, if unnerving, character studies. Even more disturbing than some of the people we meet in Wyeth’s paintings are the figures

left partially hidden, such as in Record Player (1964) and Other Voices, Study #1 (1995), which lend an added air of mystery and perhaps even peril to the paintings. There are a wealth of portraits of haunted and haunting beings in Wyeth’s figurative work, including those of friends and relatives who have passed away. There are also more anonymous figures who appear to be enchanted in some way, including the boy at the center of Dead Cat Museum (1999).

Haunted Places and Disturbing Spaces Wyeth has created more than a few images of haunted looking houses, such as Hekking House (1968). He does not lead the viewer to haunted houses only to leave them on the doorstep. From early in his career, he has been breaching the thresholds of ominous spaces to explore uncertain interiors. Barn Door, Broad Cove Farmhay, from the mid-1960s, positions the viewer inside a questionable space, looking toward the door—or perhaps more accurately, the escape route. Wyeth offers us clues to our unlucky fate in the grids of the barn door windows, which suggest the bars of a cell about to imprison us in the darkness. Within spaces such as this barn, Wyeth turns his attention to what is found within—very often the tools of manual labor. He depicts implements in The Scythe (1966) and Buzz-

Page 14: Jamie Wyeth (b. 1946), Ramps, 2013, enamel, gesso, and watercolor on Strathmore paper, 36 x 29 1/2 in. The Phyllis and Jamie Wyeth Collection Above: Jamie Wyeth (b. 1946), Other Voices, Study #1, 1995, charcoal and gouache on cardboard, 39 1/4 x 36 in. The Phyllis and Jamie Wyeth Collection

saw (1969) of great potential violence, that suggest their function as weapons, more akin to a horror film set than a hardware store.

The Natural and Supernatural Worlds Wyeth’s work in Maine frequently acknowledges the power of the sea and its fearsome ability to render humans helpless. In Portrait of a Moon Curser: Fifteenth in a Series of Untoward Occurrences on Monhegan Island (2020) and Spindrift (2010), the sea churns and threatens with the enormity of nature. His forest-based works from Pennsylvania delve into the supernatural side of nature. The often exposed and elaborate labyrinth of a sycamore’s root system captivates Wyeth’s attention from one decade to the next, most recently in his writhing, Medusa-like Roots, Revisited (2019). The animal kingdom offers even more opportunities to stretch his dark imagination, with portraits of frenzied birds, mesmerized sheep, and decapitated deer in vivid nightmarish paintings. The persistent vein of intriguing, often ominous imagery in many of Wyeth’s paintings is frequently countered and even hidden by his fuller body of work, particularly his immensely popular coastal views, farm scenery, and dog portraits. Yet the

darker, more troubling imagery has been a constant over the past 60 years. Whether introducing curious characters, exploring peculiar spaces, or surveying otherworldly landscapes, Wyeth is very much at home with uneasy subjects. Like masters of the unsettling in other art forms, from Edgar Allan Poe to Stephen King, Alfred Hitchcock to M. Night Shyamalan, Wyeth stands apart in a shadowy and strange world of his own creation. Organized by the Brandywine and curated by Amanda C. Burdan, Ph.D., Jamie Wyeth: Unsettled will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue published by Rizzoli Electa. This major catalogue will feature a lead essay by Burdan, Senior Curator at the Brandywine, as well as contributions from other authors who will explore the creation of similarly unsettling moods in different media, including essays by John Rusk on filmmaking, Rena Butler on choreography, Michael Kiley on sound artistry, and Jennifer Margaret Barker on classical composition. Following its presentation at the Brandywine, the exhibition will travel to the Farnsworth Art Museum (Rockland, ME); Greenville County Museum of Art (Greenville, SC); Dayton Art Institute (Dayton, OH); and the Frye Art Museum (Seattle, WA). n

This exhibition is made possible with support from Mac and Frances Weymouth, Linda L. Bean, Diana Bean, Chase, D.D. Matz, Helen C. Alexander, Cina Alexander Forgason, Morris and Boo Stroud, and an anonymous donor.

Left: Jamie Wyeth (b. 1946), The Bones of a Whale, 2006, oil on canvas, 60 1/8 x 72 1/8 in. Collection of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Bebe and Crosby Kemper Collection, Gift of the Enid and Crosby Kemper Foundation, 2006.19 Above: Jamie Wyeth (b. 1946), Roots, Revisited, 2019, acrylic, oil, and enamel on panel, 48 x 96 in. The Phyllis and Jamie Wyeth Collection Near right: Jamie Wyeth (b. 1946), Spindrift, 2010, oil on canvas, 40 x 46 in. The Phyllis and Jamie Wyeth Collection Far right: Jamie Wyeth (b. 1946), Great White Shark, 2011, charcoal, oil, and watercolor on toned paper board, 24 x 18 in. Private collection All works © Jamie Wyeth / Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York

LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE Brandywine Conservancy’s Landowner Stewardship Program

For more than five decades, the Brandy-

wine Conservancy has been working to protect the natural and cultural resources of the Brandywine Creek watershed and beyond—which includes permanently protecting over 70,000 acres of land from future development to date. Through these efforts, it is important that we also continue to invest in conserved lands with the goal of creating a more resilient natural community. In order to have a more meaningful impact, the Conservancy’s relationship with its easement landowners is evolving to deepen the partnerships between the people, their land, and our organization. With this goal in mind, the Conservancy is excited to launch a new Landowner Stewardship Program for those who have placed easements on their properties. This new program is designed to help easement landowners embrace the important natural resources of their property and implement best practices that will help them increase the environmental benefits of their land. In addition to enhancing land stewardship efforts, the mission of this new program is to strengthen the partnership between the Conservancy staff and landowners by offering technical and financial assistance for projects that improve overall ecosystem health on both individual properties and throughout the region.

Bobolink by Jim Moffett

This expands upon the Conservancy’s successful agricultural best management practice program offered to farmers. Some of the initial goals for the new program include education and outreach, development of a funding model, and the establishment of a pilot area with project implementation. Conservancy staff also hope to identify habitats and/or species at greatest risk in our area and prioritize projects on both an individual property and landscape scale. Project examples include lawn to meadow conversion; reforestation efforts; important bird area conservation projects; and agricultural conservation and forest management planning. To help launch the Landowner Stewardship Program, the Conservancy received a generous donation to establish the Charkes Fund for Land Stewardship. It will be used to support private landowners in helping them plan, implement, and maintain stewardship projects on properties subject to conservation easements. The Conservancy is thankful for this donor’s generosity and their commitment to launching this important emerging program that will lead our work into the future. The Conservancy has long been a resource for stewardship-related advice, and we look forward to further expanding our technical stewardship work for our easement landowners to include planning and project implementation. If you are interested in becoming involved in the development or implementation of this exciting new program, please contact us at conservancy@brandywine.org. n

Tim Furlong / NBC10 Philadelphia

BRANDYWINE CONSERVANCY AND PARTNERS LAUNCH NEW FLOOD STUDY Nearly two years after Hurricane Ida produced historic flooding that devastated our local region, the Brandywine Conservancy announced that it will be leading a new study to address more frequent and extreme flooding events impacting communities along the Brandywine Creek in both Pennsylvania and Delaware. Conducted in partnership with the Chester County Water Resources Authority and the University of Delaware Water Resources Center, the Brandywine Flood Study is a coordinated effort to better understand where and why flooding occurs and identify the best approaches to protect our communities from future severe flooding events. Encompassing the mainstem of the Brandywine Creek and key tributaries in Chester and Delaware Counties in Pennsylvania and traveling downstream to impacted areas over the Delaware state line, the study will evaluate the Brandywine Creek’s flow regimes during intense storm events, along with the scale and potential impact of subsequent flooding. The main goal is to use this data to identify options for reducing flood impacts to improve public safety and lessen property damage. The study will be funded, in part, through grants from Chester County Government and Delaware County Council and is expected to be completed by summer 2024. A series of public workshops will be held during key stages of the process to engage with impacted residents and gather feedback. The study will also include Stroud Water Research Center, West Chester University, and other technical experts as key partners. Once the flood study is completed, the Brandywine Conservancy and its partners are committed to working with impacted communities, elected officials, key funders, and government agencies to implement the study’s recommendations so that the watershed and its residents in both states are better prepared, protected, and equipped to rebound from future severe flooding events. To stay informed on the flood study progress and learn how you can get involved, visit www.brandywine.org/flood-study

A PEEK INSIDE ABSTRACT FLASH: UNSEEN ANDREW WYETH Now through February 18, 2024

Now on view in the newly refurbished Andrew Wyeth gallery on the Museum’s third

floor, Abstract Flash: Unseen Andrew Wyeth showcases 37 surprising and revealing watercolors centered on a previously underrecognized facet of Wyeth’s work. The title of the exhibition refers to a quote from the artist: “My struggle is to preserve that abstract flash—like something you caught out of the corner of your eye.” Although known as a realist, Wyeth referred to himself as an abstract artist on numerous occasions. The previously unexhibited watercolors here explore that contradiction. This presentation places these free and exuberant compositions into the context of the artist’s practice of daily artmaking and explores his relationships with other artists of his time. Drawn entirely from the Andrew & Betsy Wyeth Collection of the Wyeth Foundation for American Art, now managed by the Brandywine, these works are full of gesture, energy, and emotion—the same qualities that Wyeth admired in abstract painters such as Franz Kline and Willem de Kooning. As an example, the untitled work shown here from 1948 is full of incredible freedom and vitality while still presenting 20

a largely recognizable scene. Like many works on view, this piece was untitled by Betsy James Wyeth, Andrew’s first collection manager and life-long creative partner and wife. Instead of a title, it was assigned a cataloguing number—"B0198"—possibly because these personal recordings of spontaneous inspiration were not intended for public viewing. In contrast, the famed Christina’s World (1948) was painted the same year, proving these quickly captured moments were habitual to the artist, even as highly detailed and realistic work was being produced. A gallery case that concludes the installation displays previously unknown documents that show Wyeth’s openness to new ideas and active engagement with his abstract contemporaries. Abstract Flash offers

a rare glimpse into Wyeth’s creative process, allowing us to see his tempera paintings—a selection of which are on view in the last section of the gallery—in a new light. Abstract Flash: Unseen Andrew Wyeth is on view at the Brandywine through February 18, 2024, and is curated by Karen Baumgartner, Brandywine's Associate Collection Manager of the Andrew & Betsy Wyeth Collection, in close collaboration with William L. Coleman, Ph.D., Brandywine's Wyeth Foundation Curator and Director of the Andrew & Betsy Wyeth Study Center. Following its presentation at the Brandywine, which centers on Wyeth’s Pennsylvania work, a second part of Abstract Flash will open at the Farnsworth Art Museum (Rockland, Maine) in summer 2024, focused on the artist’s Maine abstractions. n

Exhibition Catalogue Now available for purchase in the Museum Shop, this fully illustrated catalogue includes three essays exploring the themes of the exhibition, as well as look at the artwork to be shown in the Maine counterpart of Abstract Flash opening at the Farnsworth Art Museum next summer. Purchase a copy at www.BrandywineMuseumShop.org.

Right: Andrew Wyeth, Untitled, 1948, watercolor on paper. Collection of the Wyeth Foundation for American Art, B0198. © 2023 Wyeth Foundation for American Art/Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York Below: Installation view of Abstract Flash: Unseen Andrew Wyeth

ALLAN FREELON: PAINTER, PRINTMAKER, TEACHER Now through January 21, 2024

Currently on view in the Brandywine’s Strawbridge Family Gallery, Allan Freelon: Painter,

Printmaker, Teacher is a dive into the printed and painted works of Philadelphia artist Allan Randall Freelon (1895-1960). At a time in the early twentieth century when Black culture and creativity was blossoming in the United States, Freelon influenced many artists in the region as an educator, an American Impressionist painter, and a social realist printmaker. Co-curated by Amanda C. Burdan, Ph.D., and Olive Collinson—Brandywine’s summer curatorial intern—the exhibition highlights the Museum’s 2021 purchase of a major painting by Freelon and the debut of a generous gift of a portfolio of prints donated by Joel S. Dryer. Freelon attended many of Philadelphia’s leading educational institutions, including the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art (now known as the University of the Arts), University of Pennsylvania, Tyler School of Art, and the Barnes Foundation. Following his service as Second Lieutenant in the U. S. Army (1917-1919), Freelon joined the Philadelphia School District as an art teacher. By 1921, he was appointed as the Assistant Director of Art Education in the district— the first African American to be appointed to the Department of the Superintendent in the city and a position he held throughout the rest of his life. In addition to his administrative role in Philadelphia public schools, Freelon also taught private art classes at his home in Telford, Pennsylvania, known as “Windy Crest.”

His paintings, which were in the vein of American Impressionism, often pictured Gloucester, Massachusetts, where he and several Philadelphia artists, including Hugh Henry Breckenridge, spent their summers. The idyllic paintings contrast markedly with his grittier prints, many of which were of an experimental style pioneered by his mentor Dox Thrash at the Philadelphia Works Progress Administration print studio. Freelon firmly endorsed an artist’s freedom to choose their own subjects and style, but in coming to prominence at the height of the Harlem Renaissance, he felt pressure to represent the Black experience. His decision to work in the Impressionist mode led to aesthetic disagreements with his Philadelphia-born contemporary, the philosopher and

“Dean” of the Harlem Renaissance, Alain Locke. In his 1925 book The New Negro, Locke championed the formation of a unified Black identity, which Freelon felt was limiting to Black artists’ creativity. Freelon was also the patriarch of a multigenerational artistic family. His grandson was the distinguished American architect Philip Freelon, who played a key role in the design of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture. His great-granddaughter, Maya Freelon, is a renowned multi-media artist continuing the family’s legacy in the visual arts. She will join the Brandywine’s senior curator, Amanda C. Burdan, for a virtual presentation about her great-grandfather’s work in January. Allan Freelon: Painter, Printmaker, Teacher is on view through January 21, 2024. n

Left: Allan Freelon (1895– 1960), Mackerel Boats, 1925–1929, etching in black on ivory wove paper, 10 x 7 1/2 in. Gift of Joel S. Dryer

Right: Allan Freelon (1895– 1960), Gloucester Harbor, ca. 1929, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 in. Purchased with Museum funds, 2021 All works are © The Freelon Family Estate

MORE TO LOVE & LEARN AT THE BRANDYWINE Left: Free First Sunday at Brandywine performance by Danza Tenochtli de Casa Guanajuato Kennett Square. Right: Integral tai chi class at Penguin Court Preserve. Lower right: Native Plant Workshop program participants planting a demonstration "pocket garden" on Brandywine's campus.

Want to learn more about an artist fea-

tured in the latest Museum exhibition? Or discover which native plants might grow well in that shady spot in your yard? Or maybe you want to collaborate with your family and friends on a creative art project? Whatever your interests might be, the Brandywine offers a full slate of programs—both virtual and in-person— to satisfy your curiosity throughout the year and keep everyone engaged with both art and nature. Since the launch of virtual programming at the Brandywine in April of 2020, people in 47 states and nine countries have tuned into Zoom programs offered by both the Museum and Conservancy. This has been a fabulous way to extend our mission and connect with a wider

audience outside of our immediate geographic region. Three years later, these online programs continue to be popular, including the Museum’s virtual tours led by exhibition curators; “Wyeth Conversations” with leading scholars discussing the work of Andrew Wyeth; “Studio Spotlights” featuring living artists; and the ARTZ Philadelphia program for people with dementia and their care partners. Conservancy-focused programming has recently expanded, thanks to newer staff positions, allowing us to share and educate on the value of native plants, pollinators, and wildlife. One of the most popular programs over the past two years includes a series of workshops that help participants learn how to incorporate native plants into their own landscapes.

Combined themes that promote the organization’s unique mission of art and nature have also been a focus, such as the recent “Brandywine Treasures” program which highlighted the bequest of Richard M. Scaife, a long-time trustee who left his Penguin Court property and half of his extensive art collection to the Brandywine after his passing. Over the past year and a half, we’ve also been thrilled to welcome people back to the Museum, campus, and preserves for lively in-person experiences with original works of art, artists’ studio tours, native plant programs, trail hikes, and more. At the Museum, Free First Sunday events welcome families with activities led by teaching artists and lively music, dance, and circus arts performances. Guided

tours and “Art Chats” engage visitors in the galleries, while a series of plein air programs bring artists to the N.C. Wyeth and Andrew Wyeth Studios and Kuerner Farm. For the Conservancy, in-person programs include the Pennsylvania Master Naturalist training program at Penguin Court Preserve, which prepares individuals for meaningful conservation service. Visitors can also join guided seasonal campus and preserve walks focused on historical and natural history topics. For those that prefer to explore on their own, Brandywine Outside is a great online resource with information on the Museum’s campus and trails (www.brandywine.org/outside). n Find out about upcoming events, both in-person and virtual, at www.brandywine.org/events 25

EGGNOG BREAD PUDDING A recipe from the Millstone Café Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 12

Transform day-old bread into a decadent holiday dessert with this festive take on a traditional classic. Filled with eggnog and warm spices, and topped with a fresh cranberry rum sauce, this dish would be equally at home at a holiday brunch or served as a crowd-pleasing dessert. From our kitchen to yours, we hope you enjoy this seasonal recipe from the Millstone Café’s Executive Chef, Justin Rumsey.

Ingredients:

Steps:

Bread Pudding

• Grease a 9x13 inch pan with nonstick spray before adding the cubed bread to the dish. It is important the bread is slightly stale, otherwise the bread pudding will be too soggy. Set aside.

• 1 (14–16 oz) loaf of day-old French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes • 4 cups eggnog • 4 large eggs • ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract • ½ tsp ground cinnamon • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg Cranberry Rum Sauce • ½ cup light brown sugar, packed • ¼ cup unsalted butter • ¼ cup eggnog • 1 Tbsp dark rum • ½ cup fresh cranberries

• Whisk eggnog, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and spices in a large bowl until no lumps remain. Pour the mixture over the bread and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least three hours, but overnight is best. • Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake dish for 35–45 minutes or until golden brown on top. • While the bread pudding bakes, prepare the sauce by melting the sugar, eggnog, and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Do not bring to a boil. Once the sugar is dissolved, add the cranberries and rum. Pour sauce over each slice of bread pudding before serving. Enjoy!

EVENTS CALENDAR Fall–Winter 2023

November 2023 2&9

Children’s Read-Aloud Tours

Stroller Tour

Rooted in Family

10:30 a.m.

7 p.m.

Young children and their grown-

A guided tour designed especially for

Join a lively discussion moderated by

ups hear a story, interact with art in

adults accompanied by babies.

Shadra Strickland, co-curator of the

16 ^

the Museum, and make their own

exhibition, Rooted, with award-win-

creative works.

ning illustrators Cozbi Cabrera and

3&5

Joe Cepeda, about the choices artists

Stewardship Walk at the Laurels

make in portraying families and how

Plein Air Day at Kuerner Farm

Preserve

they envision their characters engag-

9:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.

9–11 a.m.+

ing with the world around them.

Artists working in all media are in-

Enjoy a leisurely hike around the

vited to sketch or paint this National

Laurels Preserve, guided by our

Historic Landmark.

Preserve Stewards, to discuss recent

Sensory-Friendly Access Hours:

stewardship work on the property

Brandywine Railroad

and the reasons behind the activities.

5–7 p.m.+

5 Free First Sunday at Brandywine

After-hours access for individuals

10 a.m.–2 p.m.+

Come to the Museum to meet

Ask the Experts: Native Plant

sensory processing disorder and

picture book illustrators and authors

Queries for Curious Gardeners

their families.

whose work is featured in Brandy-

12–1 p.m.

wine’s current exhibition, Rooted:

Join Brandywine’s own gardeners

Family and Nature in Contemporary

Mark Gormel, Horticultural Coor-

Member Preview: Critter Sale at

Children’s Book Illustration. The

dinator, and Emily Tinalli, Senior

Chadds Ford Historical Society

artists and authors will read and sign

Horticulturist, for an opportunity

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

their books and teaching artists will

to get thorough responses to your

Hosted at the Chadds Ford Historical

lead creative activities related to the

personal plant predicaments.

Society (CFHS), the member preview

themes of the books.

on the autism spectrum or with

sale is open to both Brandywine and CFHS members.

Critter Sale at Chadds Ford Historical Society

Event Information  Children & Family  Virtual Event  Tours & Talks  Workshops & Classes  Members Only  Special Events Unless otherwise noted, all programs and events are ticketed and/or require advance registration. For more information, program descriptions or to register, please visit brandywine.org/events

† Registration required, but free admission * Free; no registration required ^ Free with Museum admission; no registration required

10 a.m.–4 p.m. (Nov. 30–Dec. 2) 10 a.m.–3 p.m. (Dec. 3) Hosted at the Chadds Ford Historical Society. Credit card sales only.

Holiday Critter Sale! Browse and shop from thousands of unique, handcrafted ornaments made from all-natural materials by the Brandywine’s dedicated and talented volunteers. Whimsical creations include woodland critters, turtles, pigs, angels, foxes, reindeer, Plein Air artists, cottages, tabletop displays, and more. This year's sale will once again be held offsite at the Chadds Ford Historical Society. Member Preview Sale

November 29, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Public Sale

November 30–December 2, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; December 3, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Beginning December 4, the remaining inventory of Critters will be available for purchase in the Museum Shop. Can't make it in-person? Critters are also available for purchase online and can be shipped across the country. Visit www.brandywine.org/critters. Chadds Ford Historical Society is located at 1736 Creek Road, Chadds Ford, PA 19317. Credit card sales only. Proceeds from the sale benefit the Brandywine’s Art Education and Public Programming.

Brandywine Museum Shop Artfully inspired gifts for the holidays

Visit BrandywineMuseumShop.org for a full selection of gifts, including art reproductions, exclusive holiday ornaments, jewelry, books, notecards, calendars, toys, and more.

Browse a curated selection of favorites in our Holiday Gift Guide at brandywine.org/gift-guide

December 2023 6

Polar Express Read-Aloud Pajama

Stroller Tour

Breakfast with the Trains

Stewardship Walk at the Laurels

Night

10:30 a.m.

8:30–10 a.m.

Preserve

6:30–8 p.m.

A guided gallery tour designed

Enjoy early access to the

9–11 a.m.+

Children are invited to wear their

especially for adults accompanied

Brandywine Railroad before the

Enjoy a leisurely hike around the

pajamas as they delight in the tale

by babies.

Museum opens, plus a continental

Laurels Preserve, guided by our

breakfast in the Millstone Café.

Preserve Stewards, to discuss recent

of The Polar Express and enjoy hot chocolate and cookies.

stewardship work on the property and the reasons behind the activities.

January 2024 3

Sensory-Friendly Access Hours:

Rooted in Nature

Stewardship Walk at the Laurels

Brandywine Railroad

7 p.m.

Preserve

5–7 p.m.+

Join award-winning illustrators and

9–11 a.m.+

After-hours access for individuals on

authors Juana Martinez-Neal and

Enjoy a leisurely hike around the

the autism spectrum or with sensory

Micha Archer, whose books are

Laurels Preserve, guided by our

processing disorder and their families.

featured in Brandywine’s current ex-

Preserve Stewards, to discuss recent

hibition, Rooted: Family and Nature

stewardship work on the property and

in Contemporary Children’s Book

the reasons behind the activities.

6 Breakfast with the Trains

Illustration, for a conversation on the

8:30–10 a.m.

importance of empowering children

Enjoy early access to the Brandywine

to help preserve nature.

Railroad before the Museum opens, plus a continental breakfast in the

Millstone Café.

Chef Table: Burns Supper

Penguin Court Virtual Series Offered late January and February Stay tuned for more details on Penguin Court's upcoming virtual series of programs at www.brandywine.org/events.

6–9 p.m. Celebrate the life and poetry of Robert

A Family of Artists: Allan and

Burns with a traditional Scottish menu

Maya Freelon

and whisky tasting.

7 p.m.

12 Stroller Tour 10:30 a.m.^ A guided gallery tour designed especially for adults accompanied by babies.

Native Plants: Digging Deeper Workshops Offered seasonally throughout the year. A virtual and in-person native plant series to support a closer connection with your native plantings. Stay tuned for upcoming dates.

February 2024 4

Free First Sunday at Brandywine

Rooted in Collaboration:

Stroller Tour

25 Stewardship Walk at the Laurels

10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.

Preserve

The Secret Garden of George

10:30 a.m.

Enjoy free all-day admission to

Washington Carver

A guided gallery tour designed

9–11 a.m.+

the Museum and join creative art

7 p.m.

especially for adults accompanied

Enjoy a leisurely hike around the

activities for all ages.

Join artist Frank Morrison and author

by babies.

Laurels Preserve, guided by our

Preserve Stewards, to discuss

Gene Barretta for a behind-thescenes look at the development of

Children’s Read-Aloud Tours

recent stewardship work on the

a children’s picture book featuring

Thursdays, February 1 through March 14 10:30 a.m.

property and the reasons behind the

renowned scientist George Washington Carver. Original art from the book is included in Brandywine’s current exhibition, Rooted: Family and Nature in Contemporary Children’s

activities.

Young children and their grownups hear a story, interact with art in the Museum and make their own creative works.

Book Illustration.

March 2024 3

Free First Sunday at Brandywine

Stroller Tour

Stewardship Walk at the Laurels

10:30 a.m.

Preserve

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

24 ^

Enjoy free all-day admission to

A guided gallery tour designed

the Museum and join creative art

especially for adults accompanied by

activities for all ages.

babies.

9–11 a.m.+

April 2024 7

Free First Sunday at Brandywine

Stroller Tour

Chef’s Dinner

Spring Garden Walk

10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.+

10:30 a.m.^

6–9 p.m.

10-11 a.m.

Enjoy free all-day admission to

A guided gallery tour designed

the Museum and join creative art

especially for adults accompanied by

activities for all ages.

babies.

Stewardship Walk at the Laurels Preserve 9–11 a.m.+

A guided walk through the Brandywine’s campus gardens.

MEMORIALS & TRIBUTES The Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art gratefully accepts and acknowledges gifts in honor or in memory of family and special friends, and in appreciation of our staff and volunteers. Recent gifts include: IN MEMORY OF C. WAYNE "SKIP" ACHUFF JR.

IN MEMORY OF DOROTHY “DOTTIE” S. HUFF

(in addition to previous gifts)

Rita Razze Kathy Freney Smith IN MEMORY OF MARY BENJAMIN

Kim Gordon Merle & Mary Lickteig

Bob & Celeste Brennan Mrs. Cyrus Fleck Mark & Donna Gormel Roland & Donna Heck Joan B. Lichtenwalner Jo & Joe Lurquin Margaret M. Dunbar David & MaryEileen Perri

IN HONOR OF KEVIN C. FRYBERGER

IN MEMORY OF BETTY LOIS MUELLER

IN HONOR OF W. DONALD SPARKS II, ESQ.

(in addition to previous gifts)

Bob & Kathy Krieger

The Seraph Foundation

IN HONOR OF THOMAS PADON

IN HONOR OF MORRIS W. STROUD

& AUDREY LEWIS

(in addition to previous gifts)

Lisa McCarty

Stephen G. Milliken

IN MEMORY OF ROCCO ANTHONY

IN MEMORY OF FRANCIS H. TWEED

ROMANO

Edward & Paula Spang

Paxton Ramsdell

IN MEMORY OF STEPHEN J. KELLY

(in addition to previous gifts)

David Deist Linda Hadley Linda B. Taylor

Mr. & Mrs. Sean Combs Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas J. DiMarino Mrs. Therese Goldberg Ms. Marie Hawkins Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Hungerford The McCall & Opoulos Families

IN MEMORY OF MR. PETER

IN MEMORY OF JOANNE GORMEL

IN HONOR OF JEAN ROMANO

Heidi & Mark Ginn

(in addition to previous gifts)

Jo & Joe Lurquin David & MaryEileen Perri Marie J. Oakberg & Phillip J. Dowd Jr.

IN MEMORY OF RUTH RASMUSSEN LIEBERMAN

(in addition to previous gifts) Robert D. McNeil

Peter Van Pelt

Patricia Trent Wells IN HONOR OF FRANCIE & MAC WEYMOUTH

Mrs. Madeline Goldpaint

IN HONOR OF PAUL HOERNER & DAVE JENSEN

SCOVILLE WELLS (in addition to previous gifts)

IN MEMORY OF NANCY MOHR & JOHN DAY MOHR (in addition to previous gifts)

Alexandra W. Hopkins

IN HONOR OF ALEX & ELLIE SCOTT

Meg & Antelo Devereux Russell B. Jones Jr.

YOUR SUPPORT CONTINUES TO MAKE GREAT THINGS POSSIBLE! This giving season, we hope you'll consider making a fully tax-deductible donation to the Brandywine's Annual Giving fund. Contributions to Annual Giving are an important source of operating support and help to underwrite budgeted expenses that make all of our programs possible. Supporting this fund is an easy way to have an immediate impact on Brandywine's programs and the initiatives that are important to you! Learn more or make a contribution today at: www.brandywine.org/give

P.O. Box 141, Route 1 Chadds Ford, PA 19317

MUSEUM HOURS Visit www.brandywine.org/hours INFORMATION brandywine.org/museum information@brandywine.org 610.388.2700 FOLLOW THE MUSEUM @brandywinemuseum @brandywinemuseum Cover: Jamie Wyeth (b. 1946), Bean Boots (detail), 1985, oil on panel, 37 x 50 in. Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, Maine. Gift of the Cawley Family, 2001.29.1

EXHIBITIONS Allan Freelon: Painter, Printmaker, Teacher Through January 21, 2024

PRESERVE HOURS The Laurels, Waterloo Mills & Birmingham Hill Preserves Visit www.brandywine.org/preserves

Abstract Flash: Unseen Andrew Wyeth Through February 18, 2024

INFORMATION brandywine.org/conservancy information@brandywine.org 610.388.8340

Rooted: Family and Nature in Contemporary Children’s Book Illustration Through February 28, 2024 Jamie Wyeth: Unsettled March 16–June 9, 2024

FOLLOW THE CONSERVANCY @brandywineconservancy @brandywineconservancy