2020 Annual Report

2020 Annual Report

WINTERTHUR MUSEUM, GARDEN & LIBRARY 2020 A N N U A L R E P O R T

At Winterthur, the events of 2020 changed our view of many things. We looked at the collections in exciting ways through exhibitions such as Re-Vision 20/20: Through a Woman’s Lens and Re-Presenting Black Womanhood. Through our computer monitors, we could see that virtual outreach was valuable and necessary. We found opportunity to renew an iconic garden. We looked at the house differently—as a canvas for a holiday light show like nothing Winterthur has ever presented. Having learned much over a year of adaptation and change, we look to the future through new eyes.

From the Chair

I have never been more proud of Winterthur.

In a year unlike any other in recent memory, a time that will be remembered most for social division and personal isolation, Carol Cadou and the staff at Winterthur united in new ways to surmount every challenge posed by Covid-19. When the governor closed nonessential businesses and cultural institutions for several weeks in the spring, dedicated gardeners, general services staff, and public safety officers worked on-site around the clock to maintain the estate and keep it safe. Academic programs and library staff quickly found new ways to serve students and researchers remotely. The curatorial, visitor engagement, and marketing departments rescheduled and reimagined programs, events, and exhibitions. Philanthropy renewed its commitment to members, donors, staff, volunteers, and stalwart supporters. A new task force began helping to find new ways to make Winterthur more diverse and inclusive. And through it all, the technology team helped staff across Winterthur learn new technologies that allowed us to reach out to the world. We may jest that implementing change feels like turning a tanker, but the Winterthur staff proved it could pivot on a dime, even as most worked from home. It required an uncommonly high degree of ingenuity, persistence, and hard work across the institution as well as the will to adapt and change in service of a greater good we all hold dear. When Winterthur could reopen in October, it set records for attendance at conferences—thanks to the access allowed by virtual presentation—weekend events sold out, and a new holiday celebration redefined what traditionally has been Winterthur’s busiest and happiest season. As I write, there is still no predicting how the pandemic will change our world, but we can all be assured that Winterthur is prepared. I am eternally grateful to Carol and the entire staff for their tireless efforts to ensure a bright future for our institution and community. Thank you.

Katharine P. Booth Chair, Board of Trustees Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library

INSIDE

10

1 From the Chair

In every way, Winterthur met the challenges posed by Covid-19.

4 From the Director

People needed Winterthur more than ever in 2020. In response, we redefined “connection.”

6 Highlights of 2020

The ambassador from France visits. So does a tornado. CBS Sunday Morning focuses on Winterthur—twice. And more.

10 A Year of Change, Learning, and New Successes During a year of uncertainty, Winterthur reached out in novel ways to draw visitors in. It worked in ways no one could have imagined. 16 Discovering Ruth In a year of celebrating women, Winterthur explores the life of leading lady Ruth Wales du Pont.

20 A Jewel among Gardens Gets New Sparkle Replanting of the Sundial Garden begins with new boxwoods.

16

22 Recent Acquisitions and Loans

From a Navajo woven garment to a stunning picture-Bible, Winterthur expanded its collections in significant ways.

29 Transitions

Winterthur said goodbye to some beloved friends in 2020.

32 The Generosity of Friends The 2020 Honor Roll of Donors

34 Everything Has a Place

So says Bill Smith. His place is the house and galleries, where he keeps everything clean and orderly.

26

38 The Queen of Clean

Lori Blevins Myers’s top concern is protecting public health.

44 A True Connector

When visitors couldn’t come to Winterthur, Allison Dunckel took Winterthur to them via social media.

46 Financial Statement

45

Cover: The exact history of this flag, ca. 1912, is unknown, but careful examination suggests it was an existing flag that was repurposed to reflect progress toward suffrage by adding stars as new states granted women the right to vote. It might also have been altered hastily for an important suffrage event. On loan from the collection of Heather and Anthony Iasso, the flag was displayed in Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence on view in the Galleries from October 1, 2020, to February 2021.

From the Director

Like many around the world last winter, we at Winterthur watched intently as Covid-19 spread from China to Europe to the United States and, eventually, to Delaware. Even before the virus arrived in our state, protecting the health and safety of the Winterthur community had become our number one priority.

Despite all of our efforts, the governor ordered the closure of all nonessential Delaware businesses, including cultural institutions, in late March. Most of our staff went home to work remotely, but the needs of the estate did not stop.

Business functions needed to be maintained. Our students needed instruction. Researchers needed access to library materials. Programs, events, and exhibitions needed to be reimagined and rescheduled. We needed to prepare for the safe return of visitors. And, until a reopening, we needed, above all, to stay connected—to one another as coworkers and collaborators and to all of Winterthur’s constituencies. We realized quickly that people needed Winterthur more than ever. Our social media engagement soared as an ad hoc campaign of beautiful photos and video tours, made by staff members on their smart phones, won an overwhelmingly grateful response. As an Instagram post of a kit fox photographed on the estate went viral, we realized we were as united by our individual need for the company of others as we were by a beauty only Winterthur could offer. We made new connections and tried to share the beauty of simple acts of kindness. Early in the shutdown, our dining contractor, Restaurant Associates, donated dozens of meals to the Food Bank of Delaware. The conservation department donated numerous boxes of nitrile gloves and personal protective equipment to Westside Family Healthcare, a provider to the underserved in Wilmington. Our florists also helped by donating plants and flowers to the nonprofit Petals Please, which provides bouquets to residents of senior centers, shut-ins, and others who need a little cheer. At the same time, staff reached out virtually, connecting with students and organizing exhibitions, lectures, workshops, and other programs that were attended by visitors from around the world. When we could finally welcome guests back to the estate in October, even with capacities modified for safety reasons, we saw old friends

The Path Forward

The Vision Winterthur inspires exploration of American culture and landscapes through compelling stories and experiences.

and many news ones. They flocked to perennial events such as the Truck and Tractor Parade and to new events such as the Walking Wine Tour and Drive-in Movie Weekend. All seemed grateful for the opportunity to bring back a sense of normalcy within Winterthur’s safe environment. Covid-19 changed Winterthur and America’s arts and cultural institutions, likely in lasting ways. You will read about the ways it impacted Winterthur on the pages that follow. We have many good stories to tell. I am immensely proud of the staff and our volunteers for their extra efforts, and I am ever grateful for the Winterthur community’s steadfast support.

Our Values Agility

Excellence Innovation Integrity Inclusion Transparency

Our Priorities Preserve and Promote the Entire Winterthur Estate Engage Our Visitors Expand Our Educational Impact Secure Winterthur’s Future

Carol B. Cadou Charles F. Montgomery Director and CEO Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library

Build a Dynamic and Cohesive Team Transform Winterthur’s Digital Approach

Photo by Maria DeForrest

Highlights of 2020 The ambassador from France visits. So does a tornado. CBS Sunday Morning focuses on Winterthur—twice. And more. A Whirlwind Year Among the most prominent visitors in 2020 was a tornado. It left its mark. When it rains, it pours. On August 7, just three days after the torrents of rain Hurricane Isaias dumped on Delaware, a major tornado tore through Winterthur, destroying 90 trees across the estate and leaving it without power for more than two-and-a-half days. And if the rainfall from Isaias was bad—4.7 inches over seven hours—the drenching from the tornado was worse. In 45 minutes the storm dropped 4.1 inches of rain, more than a tenth of the local total for an average year. The Delaware Environmental Observing System station near Winterthur recorded 1.03 inches in one five-minute period alone, a weather event that can be expected only once every 1,000 years. The rain overwhelmed waterways across the estate, flowing over the banks of Clenny Run, covering bridges, and streaming over roads. The flood covered Museum Road, and the water level around the irrigation pump house near the East Barn rose to about eight feet above normal. Damage was significant. Two feet of water pooled in the basement of the Cottage, and the equipment room of the Crowninshield Building also flooded, damaging

staff three days to reopen the main roads, a week to open all roads, and a month to clear the trails,” said Chris Strand, Brown Harrington Director of Garden and Estate. Supporters came to the rescue, donating $40,000 toward the tree cleanup. Significant trees lost included a large white oak of unknown age in Brown’s Woods meadow, a 140-year-old white oak on Old Gate House Road, and a 300-year-old white oak that stood alone by the back gate, an icon to the hundreds of motorists who had passed it on Route

100 every day. “At that age, obviously, it was a survivor,” Strand said. “Unfortunately, it succumbed to this storm.” Remarkably, there was no major tree damage to any of the 118 structures on the property. Some of the white oaks will be milled for lumber. Some will be made into unique collectibles. And some may be used in an upcoming exhibition. “They will have a life beyond this garden,” Strand said.

the heating-air condition system and nearly destroying electrical transformers. The storm also took out a switch gear— essentially a giant fuse—in the 1750 House, which contains major systems for the museum. The duration of the power outage threatened the collection, but electricity was restored just in time to prevent a serious compromise to temperature and humidity. With winds up to 105 mph, the tornado felled

Trees felled by tornado across the estate 90

about 90 trees across the estate. Half needed to be removed. “It took contract arborists and Winterthur

Soup’s On CBS Sunday Morning explored Winterthur’s collection of tureens. As the eyes of the nation focused on Delaware in November, CBS Sunday Morning focused on Winterthur. Correspondent Rita Braver, producer Robbyn McFadden, and two cameramen visited October 19 to tape a segment about the museum’s collection of soup tureens for the November 22 episode. With camera crews in high demand during the presidential campaigns, McFadden packed two days of recording into one. Starting at 8:00 a.m., the crew taped interviews with Leslie Grigsby, senior curator of ceramics and glass, and Ann Wagner, curator of decorative arts. Then they set up near the Reflecting Pool, where Braver served Grigsby mushroom soup from what she jokingly described as “the ugliest tureen in the world,” a gift from her wedding. The crew spent the afternoon, filming still shots of tureens in the Campbell Collection of Soup Tureens until about 6:00 p.m. “We were glad the tureens caught Rita’s eye, but we weren’t surprised, because they are always a popular with museum visitors,” Wagner said. “The tureen collection has an appeal that is almost as universal as soup eating is. And, like soup, the collection holds something to satisfy every taste.” The visit by CBS was the second in 2020. Braver noticed the tureens in July, when she came to interview conservation students and Joyce Hill Stoner, director of preservation studies for the Winterthur/UD Program in Art Conservation, about their work on dioramas from the 1940 American Negro Exhibition in Chicago. That segment appeared on the August 30 episode of CBS Sunday Morning as part of a larger story about the exhibition, allowing Winterthur to explain to viewers nationwide its part in an effort to diversify the field of art conservation. Both of the Winterthur segments are available at cbsnews.com.

France Returns to the Brandywine Valley

Ambassador Phillippe Etienne and others visited Winterthur and learned of its French connections. Winterthur welcomed a small group of distinguished guests from France, via Washington, D.C., on September 24. French Ambassador Phillippe Etienne, his wife, Patricia, and Consul General François Penguilly were greeted upon their arrival by Board Chair Kathy Booth, Director Carol B. Cadou, Associate Curator Stephanie Delamaire, Estate Historian Jeff Groff, and Jane Drummond, executive assistant to the director and board of trustees. Groff began the ambassador’s tour with an overview of the history and French heritage of the du Pont and Bidermann families. Groff and Delamaire then led the small party on a tour. Booth accompanied the diplomats, pointing out notable objects along the way. A few French connections in the Winterthur collection were highlighted, among them the Chinese Parlor, whose hand-painted wallpaper was discovered in Paris. Delamaire made the tour more meaningful and enjoyable by discussing noteworthy works of art with the visitors in her native French. The most significant example graces the elegant Du Pont Dining Room. It is the famous unfinished Benjamin West painting of the peace treaty between America and Britain that was signed in Paris. Another link the visitors delighted in learning about was the connection between Henry Francis du Pont and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, a devotée of French antiques. After the tour, the ambassador’s party asked to see the famous garden they had heard so much about. Their itinerary allowed just enough time for a short stroll to the Reflecting Pool.

Highlights of 2020

Booked Solid The library may have been quieter than usual this year, but the staff was as busy as ever. Most people think of curbside service as a no-contact way to pick up orders from stores during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Winterthur Library redefined the term in 2020, providing curbside pickup of pre-ordered books to anyone who requested them while Winterthur was closed to the public in the spring and summer of 2020. Even after reopening the library on a limited basis in early August, “That continued to be a value,” said Library Director Emily Guthrie. “People have concerns about sharing the space and doing research on-site.” In a typical year, the Winterthur Library serves about 4,000 researchers from around the world. In this atypical year of travel restrictions, business closures, and isolation, on-site visits were not possible until August, and then on a limited basis only. The library had to rethink its model of service. The library built on its digital presence. From a stockpile of previously scanned images, staff members uploaded about 5,000 images to the library’s >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52

Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online