Winterthur curators and conservators, furniture scholars, and master craftspeople will shed light on the neoclassical furniture and cabinetmaking trades of Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and other Mid-Atlantic centers at a two-day program at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library on April 23 and 24, 2020. A day of examining furniture up close on Thursday is followed by a day of lectures on Friday.

“The Beltway and Beyond: Neoclassical Furniture of Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and the Coastal Mid-Atlantic” will offer furniture enthusiasts and collectors a not-to-be-missed opportunity to explore the topic with independent furniture specialists, historians, and other experts. Neoclassical furniture was popular in America in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Thursday’s schedule is filled with demonstrations, talks, and object studies. Speakers include Brock W. Jobe, professor of American decorative arts emeritus, and Joshua W. Lane, Lois F. and Henry S. McNeil Curator of Furniture, both of Winterthur. Object study of Baltimore furniture will be led by Mark Anderson, Elizabeth Terry Seaks Senior Furniture Conservator, Winterthur. Demonstrations include one focused on inlay, led by Stephen P. Latta, Professor, Cabinetmaking and Wood Technology, Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, Lancaster, PA, and fancy paint by Christine Thomson, Conservator, Salem, MA.

Speakers for Friday’s lectures include Stiles Colwill, Collector and President of Stiles T. Colwill Interiors (Lutherville, MD); Michelle Fitzgerald, Assistant Curator of Johns Hopkins University Museums (Baltimore, MD); Alexandra A. Kirtley, the Montgomery-Garvan Curator of American Decorative Arts, Philadelphia Museum of Art; Stephen P. Latta, Professor, Cabinetmaking and Wood Technology, Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology (Lancaster, PA; Sumpter Priddy, Principal, Sumpter Priddy III, Inc. (Alexandria, VA); Robert F. Trent, Independent Furniture Historian (Wilmington, DE); and Gregory Weidman, Curator, Hampton National Historic Site, Towson, MD.

Participants may register for both days ($275) or for Friday only ($100). The Sewell C. Biggs Fund and Winterthur Scholarship Fund have generously underwritten scholarships for graduate students and young professionals in the decorative arts or related fields wishing to attend Furniture Up Close. Qualified applicants must have less than five years of experience in their field. For information, please contact Lois Stoehr at lstoehr@winterthur.org.

Winterthur—known worldwide for its preeminent collection of American decorative arts, naturalistic gardens, and research library for the study of American art and material culture—offers a variety of tours, exhibitions, programs, and activities throughout the year. General admission includes a tour of some of the most notable spaces in Henry Francis du Pont’s former
home as well as access to the Winterthur Garden and Galleries, special exhibitions, a narrated tram tour (weather permitting), the Campbell Collection of Soup Tureens, and the Enchanted Woods children’s garden.

Winterthur, located on Route 52, six miles northwest of Wilmington, Delaware, and five miles south of U.S. Route 1, is closed on Mondays (except during Yuletide) and Thanksgiving Day. Museum hours are 10:00 am–5:00 pm, Tuesday–Sunday. $20 for adults; $18 for students and seniors; $6 for ages 2–11. Memberships are available for free and discounted admission.
Winterthur is committed to accessible programming for all. For information, including special services, call 800.448.3883, 302.888.4600, or TTY 302.888.4907, or visit winterthur.org.