CRAFTING A CREATIVE COLLABORATION

Take a peek behind the scenes of an exciting new exhibition in the making with Brandywine’s Senior Curator, Amanda C. Burdan, Ph.D.

One of the many things that makes a visit to the Brandywine Museum of Art special is taking a tour of one of our historic artist studios. Both the N. C. Wyeth House & Studio and the Andrew Wyeth Studio properties are a part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Historic Artists' Homes and Studios (HAHS) program. This coalition of 55 historic sites helps to preserve and interpret the private realms where art was made, offering visitors the opportunity to experience the power of place.

Another nearby HAHS property is the Wharton Esherick Museum, located in Malvern, where this remarkable artist (1887-1970) lived and worked for over four decades. His groundbreaking approach to wood—a medium he explored to create an extraordinary range of work including woodblock prints, drawings, sculpture, design objects and furniture—led him to be known as the father of the Studio Furniture Movement, which elevated handmade, functional objects crafted with bold, experimental techniques and forms.

Taking the artist’s own studio as the genesis for an exhibition, the Brandywine Museum of Art is collaborating with the Wharton Esherick Museum and its Director of Curatorial Affairs and Strategic Partnerships, Emily Zilber, to present a major exhibition in which a rich selection of works—many of them leaving the studio for the first time—will envelop visitors in the richly crafted world Esherick created in his home and studio, located atop Valley Forge Mountain in Chester County. These interiors, the artist said, represented “an autobiography in three dimensions.” In addition to the exhibition, a beautifully illustrated catalogue will provide scholarly commentary that expands on the importance of the studio for Esherick.

Less than 25 miles apart, the studios of Esherick and the Wyeths represent the great range of artistic inspiration in this area in the twentieth century. These renowned artists lived parallel lives, situating their studios outside the city life of Philadelphia and welcoming students and visitors to experience their sanctuaries in Malvern and Chadds Ford respectively. To celebrate the breadth of artistic talent in the region, the Brandywine is bringing the magical world of Esherick out of his studio and into Brandywine's galleries. In collaboration with the Wharton Esherick Museum, the Brandywine will open The Crafted World of Wharton Esherick in the fall of 2024.

Watch for more information on this exciting collaboration as the exhibition draws nearer. n

–Amanda C. Burdan, Ph.D., Senior Curator