EVENTS

KEYNOTE LECTURE

The Irishness of the Irish Country House: A Private Tour

Friday, November 8, 10:00 am

Robert O’Byrne

Many of Ireland’s great country houses are justly famous and have been frequently photographed and discussed over the years. Other historic properties are equally entrancing but are out of the spotlight. These remain private homes, sometimes still in the care of the original family, but other times, they are rescued and restored by a new generation of owners. Few of them are open to the public, but these buildings are well known to Robert O’Byrne, who has spent decades crisscrossing the country and

exploring its architectural heritage. His talk will take the form of a journey around Ireland and into her secret country houses, along the way learning about the evolution of Irish architecture and what makes it so distinctive.  Robert O’Byrne is a writer and lecturer specializing in the fine and decorative arts. He

is the author of more than a dozen books, among them Luggala Days: The Story of a Guinness House; The Last Knight: A Tribute to Desmond FitzGerald, 29th Knight of Glin; Romantic Irish Homes; and Living in Dublin. The retired vice president of the Irish Georgian Society and trustee of the Alfred Beit Foundation, he is currently a trustee of the Apollo Foundation and the Artist’s Collecting Society. Among other work, he writes a monthly column for Apollo magazine and contributes to The Burlington Magazine and the Irish Arts

Review. For the past seven years, Mr. O’Byrne has written an award-winning blog,

www.theirishaesthete.com.

Winterthur Program in American Material Culture Presents Young Scholars

Sunday, November 10, 2:00 pm, Pusey & Jones Room

Each year the Delaware Antiques Show highlights the research of current and/or recent Lois F. McNeil

Fellows from the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture. The University of Delaware and

Winterthur, with the full support of Henry Francis du Pont, established this graduate program in 1952

to promote the interdisciplinary study of American decorative arts and material culture. The program’s

alumni hold distinguished positions internationally in museums, antiques and auction houses, preservation

organizations, historical societies, colleges and universities, and libraries.

YOUNG SCHOLARS LECTURES

Carrie Greif

Tiffany and Co. Curatorial Intern in the American Wing at the

Metropolitan Museum of Art and former Lois F McNeil Fellow

Unity by Design: Midcentury Modernism at Winterthur

Modern furniture at Winterthur? It’s true! Carrie Greif brings to light the extensive collection of midcentury modern furniture that has populated offices and work spaces across the Winterthur campus for some sixty years…all at the directive of H. F. du Pont.

Emily Whitted

Lois F. McNeil Fellow, Winterthur

Reuniting the Unfinished: The Harrison Album Quilt

Emily Whitted’s discovery of an entry in H. F. du Pont’s daybook leads to the modern-day reunion of five quilt squares with an appliqué album quilt made by a group of women in Westchester County, New York, in 1857.

SPECIAL LOAN EXHIBIT

Irresistibly Irish: Decorative Arts from the Winterthur Collection

Irish heritage is one of many concentrations in the Winterthur collection of more than

90,000 decorative art objects reflecting the diversity of America’s colonial and early national

history. See an intricately carved, delicate golden buckle, a vibrant needlework Bible cover,

and a sampling of decorative arts that celebrate Irish heritage in this special exhibit.

For more information – please visit: http://www.winterthur.org/exhibitions-events/events/delaware-antiques-show/

In addition to exquisite antiques shopping, don’t miss the keynote lecture as well as weekend lectures with young scholars. Join us for cocktails and exclusive early shopping at the Opening Night Party on Thursday, November 7, 5:00–9:00 pm at the Chase Center on the Riverfront. See the brochure for more information. For tickets, call 800.448.3883 or purchase online.