22nd IAMFA Conference Preview

1. Coming Attractions
Preview of the 2012 IAMFA Mid-Atlantic
Conference
By the 2012 Conference Team
W
elcome to Philadelphia Exposition of the same year. Originally home. In rooms reflective of the inti-
and the Brandywine Valley called the Pennsylvania Museum and mate layout and unique character
in 2012! School of Industrial Art, its founding of the original Merion galleries, this
By the time you read this, it will be was inspired by the South Kensington renowned art collection will be acces-
just eight months until the start of the Museum (now the Victoria and Albert sible to the public as never before.
22nd IAMFA Annual Conference. The Museum) in London, which grew out Celebrated for its exceptional breadth,
2012 Conference will be called the of the Great Exhibition of 1851. The depth, and quality, the Barnes Foun-
Mid-Atlantic Conference because Philadelphia Museum of Art houses dation art collection includes works
venues will be in an area in the Mid- over 225,000 works of art and a wealth by some of the greatest European and
Atlantic region of the United States. of exhibitions, encompassing some of American masters of impressionism,
All venues will be within 30 minutes the greatest achievements of human post-impressionism, and early mod-
of each other, but are located in two creativity. ern art, as well as African sculpture,
states: Delaware and Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania German decorative arts,
both rich in American history. Native-American textiles, metalwork,
Rodin Museum
The conference is scheduled for and more.
September 16–19, 2012, so mark your
calendars, and begin soon to make
your plans to attend. Registration infor- The Delaware Art Museum
mation is up on the www.IAMFA.ORG
website now, so don’t wait—make your
plans now!
Read on for information on each of
the 2012 Conference venues.
Philadelphia Museum
of Art Located near the Philadelphia Museum
of Art, the Rodin Museum houses
the largest public collection of works, The Delaware Art Museum is best
outside of Paris, by the celebrated late known for its large collection of
nineteenth-century French sculptor British Pre-Raphaelite art; works by
Auguste Rodin. Wilmington-native Howard Pyle and
fellow American illustrators; and urban
landscapes by John Sloan and his circle.
The Barnes Foundation Founded in 1912, the Delaware Art
Museum houses a world-renowned
collection that focuses on American
art and illustration from the nine-
teenth to the twenty-first centuries,
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is as well as the British Pre-Raphaelite
among the largest art museums in movement of the mid-nineteenth
the United States. It is located at the century. The Museum features an
western end of the Benjamin Franklin outdoor Sculpture Park, the Helen
Parkway, in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Farr Sloan Library & Archives, Studio
Park. The Museum was established in On May 19, 2012, the Barnes Founda- Art Classes, and the interactive Kids’
1876 in conjunction with the Centennial tion will unveil its new Philadelphia Corner learning area.
PAPYRUS WINTER 2011–2012 29

2. Winterthur Museum and also home to the Winterthur Program exotic plants and horticulture (both
Country Estate in Early American Culture and the indoor and outdoor), events and
Winterthur/University of Delaware performances, seasonal and themed
Art Conservation program. attractions, as well as educational
lectures, courses and workshops.
What is now Longwood Gardens
Hagley Museum was originally purchased from William
Penn in 1700 by a fellow Quaker named
George Peirce (1646–1734). Although
it started as a working farm, in 1798
twin brothers Joshua and Samuel Peirce
planted the first specimens of an arbor-
etum, originally named Peirce’s Park,
which has been open to the public
almost continuously since that time.
By 1850, they had amassed one of the
finest collections of trees in the nation.
Industrialist Pierre S. du Pont
(1870–1954) purchased the property
Winterthur Museum and Country Estate
from the Peirce family in 1906 to save
is located in Winterthur, Delaware, and
the arboretum from being sold for
houses one of the most important col-
lumber. He made it his private estate
lections of Americana in the United Located close to Winterthur, Hagley and, from 1906 until the 1930s,
States. It was the former home of Museum and Library is where the du Pont added extensively to the
Henry Francis du Pont (1880–1969): du Pont story begins. It was here that property. A world traveler from an
a renowned antiques collector and in 1802 E.I. du Pont established a gun- early age, du Pont was often inspired
horticulturist. Until recently, it was powder mill, which evolved into a major to add features to the garden after
known as the “Henry Francis DuPont international corporation with world- attending world’s fairs, the most notable
Winterthur Museum”. wide impact. We will visit the scenic additions being the massive conserva-
Winterthur is situated on 979 acres 235-acre campus along the banks of the tory, complete with a massive pipe
(4 km2), near Brandywine Creek, with Brandywine River, which includes the organ, and the extensive system of
60 acres (0.2 km2) of naturalistic gar- original mills of the DuPont Company, fountains. Mr. Du Pont opened his
dens. There were 2,500 acres (10 km2) working machinery, a restored workers’ estate to the public many days of the
when it functioned as a country estate. community, and the fascinating links year during his occupancy and was
There are 175 period-room displays between history, science, and technology. even known, on rare occasions,
in the Museum and approximately
to personally (and anonymously)
85,000 objects. Most rooms are open
to the public on small, guided tours. Longwood Gardens provide tours to visitors.
The collection spans more than two
centuries of American decorative arts, National Museum of
notably from 1640 to 1860, and con- American Jewish History
tains some of the most important pieces
of American furniture and fine art.
The Winterthur Library and Research
Center includes more than 87,000 vol-
umes and approximately 500,000 manu-
scripts and images, mostly related to
American history, the decorative arts,
and architecture. The facility also houses
extensive conservation, research, and Longwood Gardens consists of over
education facilities. 1,077 acres (435 ha) of gardens, wood-
In the 1990s, more informal museum lands, and meadows in Kennett Square,
galleries were opened in a new build- Pennsylvania in the Brandywine Creek The National Museum of American
ing adjacent to the main house, where Valley. It is one of the premier botanical Jewish History has long been a vital
special rotating and permanent exhi- gardens in the United States, and is component in the cultural life of
bits are now housed. The Museum is open to visitors year-round offering Philadelphia. Over the course of its
30 PAPYRUS WINTER 2011–2012

3. history, the NMAJH has attracted a the Declaration of Independence was devoted to the Constitution, the Center
broad regional audience to its public adopted here on July 4, 1776. In the illuminates constitutional ideals and
programs, while exploring American same room, the design of the American inspires acts of citizenship, so that “We
Jewish identity through lectures, panel flag was agreed upon in 1777; the the People” may better secure the
discussions, authors’ talks, films, chil- Articles of Confederation were adopted blessings of liberty to ourselves and
dren’s activities, theater, and music. in 1781; and the U. S. Constitution our posterity.
The Museum has displayed more than was drafted in 1787. The building,
a hundred exhibitions in its first three inside and out, has been restored Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia
decades of existence. As the reposi- wherever possible to its original late-
tory of the largest collection of Jewish eighteenth-century appearance. Most
Americana in the world, with more of the furnishings are period pieces.
than 25,000 objects, the NMAJH has The “rising sun” chair used by George
developed extensive institutional expe- Washington as he presided over the
rience in preservation, conservation Constitutional Convention is original.
and collections management sup-
porting the fulfillment of its mission National Constitution
to preserve the material culture of
American Jews.
Center
Located in one of Philadelphia’s most
Independence Hall historic buildings, the Ritz-Carlton
Philadelphia is a luxury hotel situated on
the city’s Avenue of the Arts: a stretch
of Broad Street that is loaded with fine
arts venues. It is also within walking
distance of a number of other notable
attractions, including the Kimmel
Center, the Academy of Music, City Hall,
Rittenhouse Square, several theaters,
and many historical buildings.
The hotel itself is located in the old
Constructed between 1732 and 1756 Girard Bank Building, which was built
as the State House of the Province of in the 1830s. This stunning Neoclassical
Pennsylvania, Independence Hall is building with its signature rotunda is
considered a fine example of Georgian an ideal setting for a luxury hotel, and
architecture. From 1775 to 1783 (except has become one of the most popular
for the winter of 1777–1778, when lodging choices in the city for those who
Located on Independence Mall, the
Philadelphia was occupied by the are looking for upscale accommodation.
National Constitution Center brings
British Army), this was the meeting This is just a taste of what awaits
the U.S. Constitution to life for the
place for the Second Continental you at the Annual Conference in
whole family through multimedia exhi-
Congress. It was in the Assembly Room Philadelphia and the Brandywine
bitions, live performances, timely public
of this building that George Washington Valley in 2012. We look forward to
programs and dynamic educational
was appointed Commander-in-Chief hosting you and your families.
resources. As America’s first and only
of the Continental Army in 1775, and
non-partisan, non-profit institution
Past issues of Papyrus
can be found on IAMFA's website
www.IAMFA.org
PAPYRUS WINTER 2011–2012 31