Modern Colonial
American Decorative Arts
Behind the Scenes - Modern Colonial
Winterthur
Winterthur's founder, Henry Francis du Pont, collected antiques to furnish his elegant country home. Today you may tour the house to see the exquisitely furnished rooms in which du Pont entertained his family and friends in grand country-house style. In the inspiring architectural surroundings of the Period Rooms, you will view magnificent vignettes of antiques celebrating the finest in style and craftsmanship.
The permanent exhibitions in the Galleries at Winterthur invite exploration and discovery. From a collection of more than 85,000 objects made or used in America between 1640 and 1860, Winterthur curators have crafted displays that focus on specific media. Themes in each gallery are built around such questions as: How were these objects made? How were they used? How do we know what they are? Objects selected range from historic clothing and craftsmen's tools to exquisite metalworks, ceramics, and paintings. For more information visit the Winterthur Web site.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
In the field of American decorative arts, the Metropolitan's first major acquisition was inspired by a large exhibition of American furniture, silver, glass, and paintings held in conjunction with the Hudson-Fulton Celebration of 1909, a grand pageant and exposition commemorating the three-hundredth anniversary of Henry Hudson's initial exploration of the river that bears his name. Mrs. Russell Sage purchased the distinguished Bolles collection of nearly nine hundred pieces of early American furniture and related domestic objects—many of which had been on display at the exposition—and presented it to the Museum. From that essential nucleus, the holdings have multiplied in quantity and scope to such a degree that they now fairly represent the changing tastes of this country's inhabitants across more than two centuries, in all of its regions, in rural communities as well as urban centers. For more information, visit the MMA Web site.
The Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities
Founded in 1910 to protect New England's cultural and architectural heritage, the Society For the Preservation of New England Antiquities is an internationally known museum and national leader in preservation, research, and innovative programming. SPNEA is headquartered in Boston, with museums located throughout Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. For more information, visit the SPENA Web site.
Colonial Williamsburg
The DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum at Colonial Williamsburg is home to an extensive collection of American and English antiques, including furniture, textiles, tools, firearms, ceramics, silver, pewter, and clothing from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. In a wide variety of ways, the objects in these galleries--designed by internationally honored architect Kevin Roche--help visitors better understand how diverse Virginia colonists made the choice for independence and became Americans. For more information, visit the Colonial Williamsburg Web site.
Portland Museum of Art
The holdings in the Decorative Arts collection at the Portland Museum of Art documents the design and craft traditions of Southern Maine as well as the early 19th-century taste for Classical design. The Museum's extensive glass collection includes more than 2000 pieces of American and European origin. For more information visit the Portland Museum of Art Web site.
Wadsworth Atheneum
The sheer quality and range of fine and decorative arts at the Wadsworth Atheneum place it among the dozen greatest art museums in the United States. Our world-renowned collections include Hudson River School landscapes, Old Master paintings, modernist masterpieces, French and American Impressionist paintings, Meissen and Sevres porcelains, costumes and textiles, American furniture and decorative arts of the Pilgrim Century through the Gilded Age, and contemporary art. For more information visit the Wadsworth Atheneum Web site.
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