Brandywine River Museum

Tucked onto the bank of the leisurely

Brandywine River is a gem of an art museum.

The Brandywine River Museum features the

works and collections of the Wyeth family.

Andrew Wyeth,(July 12, 1917 – January 16, 2009),
was a local artist from the
Chadd's Ford area.
He painted what he knew...
.the things around him.

It is likely because of his popularity
that this museum exists in this

location today.

As we approached the museum
the enormity of the building

struck us.
It is a beautiful brick structure with all windows

closed tightly with gorgeous wooden shutters.

Inside you discover three floors of galleries.

They are spaciously laid out and the
environment is one of

quiet respect and appreciation.

Unfortunately for this post
there was a no photography

rule in the galleries.
I would have wanted to show you

some very interesting pieces.
Well, I thought they were

interesting. As is the case with art,
it is subjective.

What I loved may have caused you
to shake your head.

Andrew Wyeth was introduced
to the world of art by his very talented

father, N.C. Wyeth.
I was not familiar with his work
until seeing it here.

 N.C. was an illustrator.
This museum holds his original paintings

of illustrations for the book,
Treasure Island, which was published in the

early 1900's.
He also did many other
illustrations and magazine covers.

Seeing the original works was interesting
in part because of the immense

size of them.
It was hard to get an idea
of scale in the galleries, the

rooms are so big,
but these paintings were huge.
They were framed in a

rough pine frame to protect
them in shipping and then sent to the publishers.

In a world of computers and scanners
this would be considered primitive

today but has a certain charm about it,
don't you think?

Andrew had a son named Jamie,
born in 1946,
who also enjoys the gift

 of putting paint to canvas.

He is not really a "people person" though, 

by his own admission. 

He loves farm animals, though.

Pigs are particularly of interest to him.

On one occasion he was painting a huge pig

when he stepped away for a moment.

Upon his return his paint tubes were quite missing.

He figures there were 22 or so...of quite 

toxic paint.  Later the farmer wondered about 

colorful excrement from the pig...but Jamie never 

said a word.  He was just happy, beyond words 

that the pig lived since the paints were so deadly.

Now, not to shock the Wyeth Folks I must 

admit that Warren and I found one particular gallery

to be the most fascinating.

It was the still life gallery....

It is hard to describe what captured our attention here

but various artists shared their gifts of

illusion painting.

One in particular took our breath away and 

sadly I cannot remember the artist's name at the moment.

It was a painting that looked exactly like a photo

taped to a paper.

You would never have guessed that it was an 

oil painting....I've never seen oil used in such a fine

and detailed way.  We stood and stared at this 

piece for the longest time.

Finally after exhausting our visual senses we headed out of doors

to the path which ran along the river.

It was a humid day....ripe for a downpour

but the walk was nice in any case.

The stonework fascinated me...

Pieces of brick poking through.....

Paying homage to Jamie Wyeth's love of the pig.

Somebody has to love them, right?

When I was a girl I would visit my best friend's farmette.

They had pigs.  My favorite time to visit was just after the 

birth of piglets.  They were such friendly and fun critters 

to visit.  So I can almost understand the attraction for this artist.

Almost.

Warren and I found this museum fascinating for different reasons.

He enjoyed checking out the strategically placed sprinkler system, 

designed to preserve the art if it should go off.

I greatly enjoyed the art.

I think in time I can win him over to the wonder of art.

However, if not, I think he will indulge me a few more

times if I want to wander a gallery here or there.

I highly recommend this museum if you are in 

the Brandywine Valley.

It is relatively inexpensive at $10 per person.

Given that you'll likely spend a couple of hours here

it is a great value.

Thanks for visiting today.

I am going to get back to real life now and begin a deep 

cleaning of my kitchen and dining room.

Reviewing the memories of beautiful 

and fascinating art

in my head as I work.