Winterthur celebrated the 50th Anniversary of its renowned Antiques Show in Wilmington, Delaware on the weekend of November 10th. I had been a long time fan of Winterthur’s marvelous gardens, particularly the extensive woodland underplanted with Azaleas and always looking so natural it seems to have just appears even though many skillful gardeners work hard to create that impression. So I was delighted to be invited to speak about my book and you see me with Tom Savage, Director of Museum Affairs, who kindly invited me and then was the most attentive and charming host. Here we are just before my talk. An additional pleasure was the chance to browse around the booths of the many dealers offering only the highest quality of treasures.
For special supporters and collectors, there was a series of weekend events that I attended with great pleasure. The first evening on Friday, November 8th, Judy and John Herdeg hosted an elegant dinner in the Orangerie of their historic home, full of superb American antiques. Judy and John had visited Brush Hill over the summer and were important in suggesting that I speak for Winterthur. When I emailed Judy to ask about the dress code, I clearly got the “Dress Memo” as you will see from this picture. We both appeared wearing exactly the same thing!
Charlie, who is from the Wilmington area, was able to join me for this wonderful Friday dinner and then stay on for part of Saturday before returning to Brush Hill and missing my talk. Not a terrible thing since he has heard it so often, he could probably give it by memory himself! Here we are at another home filled with museum quality antiques but the owner happens also to be a passionate hunter. I must say, I didn’t think I would sit happily reading in the armchair in front of the fireplace in this particular room since the buffalo above me would be glaring down the entire time!
