Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art Commemorates 50th Anniversary

The Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art will celebrate its 50th anniversary on the weekend of April 29th with a Gala event and the opening of new walking trails around the village of Chadds Ford. A year of celebrations continues with a major retrospective art exhibition of the work of Andrew Wyeth—the largest ever organized by the Museum—plus a variety of special programs and activities reflecting the organization’s commitment to art and the natural environment.

The new walking trails connect Brandywine’s campus to the Chadds Ford Township building, the former summer studio of the artist Howard Pyle (1853-1911). A 1.5 mile loop winds through Potts Meadow, which the organization was created to preserve in 1967, over two bridges and features natural beauty, wildlife, and scenic vistas. An intersecting trail takes hikers to the Andrew Wyeth Studio and the N.C. Wyeth House and Studio, walking in the footsteps of the artists. The trails open to the public on April 30.

Events celebrating the anniversary will take place throughout the year and include:

24TH ANNUAL YOUNG FRIENDS OF THE BRANDYWINE RIVER CLEAN UP
Saturday, April 22, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Help to clean up the banks of the Brandywine River! Join us for the 24th annual cleanup--over the years, the group has removed more than 30 tons of trash.

50TH ANNIVERSARY GALA: FROLIC IN THE GARDEN
Saturday, April 29, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Join us as we frolic and feast in celebration of the Brandywine’s 50th anniversary.
50th Anniversary Gala is presented by Wilmington Trust, and sponsored by PECO, Linda Bean’s Maine Wyeth Gallery, GWWO Inc./Architects, Lord & Taylor,  Sotheby’s and Herr Foods.  
Tickets Required

PNC ARTS ALIVE FIRST SUNDAYS FOR FAMILIES* 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Sunday, June 4, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free admission all day.
Celebrate Art and Nature: Connect the natural and artistic worlds in honor of the Brandywine Conservancy’s 50th Anniversary. Explore native flora and fauna while stretching–and sketching–in the Museum and on the campus and River Trail with artists and Conservancy staff.

ANDREW WYETH: IN RETROSPECT exhibition
June 24–September 17
A once-in-a-lifetime exhibition of iconic works by this master painter commemorates the centennial of the artist’s birth. It will include over 100 works spanning Andrew Wyeth’s entire career, from the early works that quickly established his reputation to his final painting, Goodbye, completed months before his death in 2009. The Museum is the only East Coast venue for the exhibition and the only location where visitors can immerse themselves in the world of Wyeth through tours of his studio and Kuerner Farm

ANDREW WYETH’S 100TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION & STAMP FIRST-DAY-OF-ISSUE
Wednesday, July 12
Free admission all day.
The United States Postal Service will host the official release party at the Museum of a set of 12 Forever® stamps inspired by the art of Andrew Wyeth. The day’s events also feature special activities.

NATIVE PLANT GARDENS TOUR
July 23, 2017, noon to 5 p.m.
Discover six diverse and beautiful gardens in the area that show how to use native plants in a home setting on this special tour sponsored by the Brandywine Conservancy.

BIKE THE BRANDYWINE
Saturday, September 30
Join us for a 50-mile bike ride to celebrate our 50th Anniversary! The second annual event offers three distance loop choices (25, 50, and 100 miles), each highlighting the scenery, history and lure of the beautiful Brandywine Creek Greenway and surrounding countryside. Proceeds from the ride benefit the Conservancy’s clean water programs.

FIFY/FIFTY JOINT TREE PLANTING with Stroud Water Research Center of Avondale, Pennsylvania, a—dedicated to understanding the ecology of streams, rivers, and their watersheds—also celebrating 50 years of working in the Brandywine watershed.

October

The Brandywine River Museum of Art is a program of the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art, which preserves art and the environment. The Museum has an outstanding collection of American art housed in a 19th-century mill building with a dramatic steel and glass addition overlooking the banks of the Brandywine. The museum is open daily (except Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day) from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Museum is located on Route 1 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.

The Brandywine Conservancy protects water, preserves land, and engages communities, using a multi-faceted approach to conservation. The Conservancy, also a program of the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art, works with private landowners who wish to see their lands protected forever, and provides innovative community planning services to municipalities and other governmental agencies. The Conservancy currently holds 469 conservation and agricultural easements and has facilitated the permanent preservation of more than 62,000 acres of land. For more information, call 610.388.2700 or visit brandywinemuseum.org.

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During its 50th anniversary year, the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art would like to recognize the generous support of: The Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art Board of Trustees, Donors to the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art 50th Anniversary Campaign, and Patrons of the 50th Anniversary Gala weekend.

Brandywine also thanks the following: Bank of America, The Marjorie L. and Arthur P. Miller, Jr. Fund, Christie’s, City of Wilmington, Delaware, Downingtown/Thorndale Rotary Club, E. Kneale Dockstader Foundation, FREEMAN’S, Herr Foods Inc., The Kohler Company, Linda Bean’s Maine Wyeth Gallery, Longwood Foundation, Inc., National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, PECO, Philadelphia Insurance Companies, Somerville Manning Gallery, William Penn Foundation, William & Laura Buck, Wilmington Trust and Wyeth Foundation for American Art.

Brandywine River Museum of Art receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

*PNC Arts Alive is a multi-year, multi-million dollar initiative of the PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. The goal of PNC Arts Alive is to help area residents gain access to the arts and to help arts organizations expand and engage audiences. For more information visit www.pncartsalive.com.