Step into a lavish world where Du Pont family wealth cultivated grandeur and art: the Brandywine Valley, a landscape of rolling hills and storied estates that shaped America’s artistic heritage.
Brushstrokes and Botanicals: Where Art Meets Landscape
With Alice W. Iglehart, a historic homes scholar who has educated art lovers at The Met for more than four decades, gain rare, behind-the-scenes access to treasures that define this region. When the museum is closed to the public, go behind the scenes at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, America’s first art school. In Philadelphia, explore the Barnes Foundation’s unparalleled collection, including Renoir and Cézanne, guided by a curator. In Wilmington, step inside the Du Pont family’s opulent estates—Winterthur, Nemours, and Longwood Gardens—where wealth blossomed into artistic splendor. Then discover the legacy of Howard Pyle, America’s greatest illustrator, at his private studio, and enjoy an intimate look at the Wyeth family’s evocative works at the Brandywine Museum of Art.
Highlights
- Join Alice W. Iglehart, a museum educator with more than 40 years of experience at The Met, in Philadelphia and the Brandywine Valley for a behind-the-scenes look at Du Pont treasures and exceptional museums
- Explore the nation’s first art museum and school during an exclusive visit to the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts when it’s closed to the public, seeing works by famous alumni like Mary Cassatt and Pennsylvania artists like Andy Warhol
- Discover the world’s largest collections of Renoir and Cézanne paintings during a curator-led tour of the Barnes Foundation, where we’ll also enjoy a private lunch
- Meet rising artists at Pentimenti Gallery, a cornerstone of Philadelphia’s Old City arts district that has placed works in leading museums from MoMA to the Cleveland Museum of Art
- Tour the Philadelphia Museum of Art before public hours to view works such as Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, spanning 2,000 years of creative excellence
- Enjoy a private, curator-led look at restoration projects inside the Winterthur Museum, Henry Francis du Pont’s lavish mansion housing his vast collection of American decorative art objects
- Experience America’s premier display gardens with an expert at Longwood Gardens, Pierre S. du Pont’s 1,000-acre botanical landscape with dramatic fountains, formal gardens, and 4.5 acres of indoor garden spaces
- Behold the works of Wilmington native Howard Pyle, whose children’s book illustrations inspired generations of artists, during exclusive visits to his restored 1883 studio and the Delaware Art Museum
- Enter the grandeur of Nemours Estate, where a director-led tour reveals a 77-room Louis XVI-style mansion surrounded by North America’s largest formal French gardens
