The Brandywine Museum of Art receives a $300,000 grant from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage; the grant will help fund the ‘Jerrell Gibbs: No Solace in the Shade’ exhibition (opening at the Brandywine Museum of Art on September 28, 2025)
By Steven Brodsky
… The grant was announced today in a press release issued by the Brandywine Museum of Art.
From that press release:
Chadds Ford, PA, September 26, 2024 — The Brandywine Museum of Art is the proud recipient of a $300,000 grant award from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, one of 39 new grants from the Center that will support innovative operating models, performances, exhibitions, events, and local artists in the Greater Philadelphia region. This grant will help fund Jerrell Gibbs: No Solace in the Shade, a major exhibition organized by the Brandywine and opening next September 28, 2025. It will be the first museum exhibition of artist Jerrell Gibbs (b. 1988). Based in Baltimore, Gibbs has created a highly personal body of work that explores Black masculinity—visually, conceptually and existentially.
This project will mark the artist’s largest exhibition to date, his first one-person museum exhibition, and his first publication. “Jerrell is a remarkable painter whose vigorous, dazzling brushwork is paired with highly personal imagery evoking contentment and joy. His work extends and expands upon in an exciting way the figurative tradition that is so well represented in Brandywine’s collection,” said Thomas Padon, the James H. Duff Director of the Brandywine Museum of Art. “I am grateful for the support of The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage in helping to make this major project possible.”
Featuring more than 30 paintings drawn from museum and private collections in the U.S. and Europe, No Solace in the Shade will present an incisive body of work that challenges the power of visual stereotypes of Black life, particularly those of Black men. In his distinctly gestural figurative paintings, allegorical and often autobiographical, Gibbs conveys a sense of deep emotion behind his various expressions of Black culture. He interjects a sense of equanimity and joy not often related to Black figures in the art historical canon, dismantling the visual misrepresentation of Black men being associated with violence, trauma and fear. “I am excited about this exhibition because it demonstrates how stories of Black people can exist in an institutional setting without being in a sensationalized context,” said Gibbs. “This show captures moments of everyday Black life reinforcing the notion that paintings of Black stories and experiences are of value.”
The exhibition will be guest curated by Angela N. Carroll, a writer, art historian and professor based in Baltimore. “Anyone who experiences Jerrell Gibbs work, virtually or in-person, is moved by what they encounter,” said Carroll. “No Solace in the Shade celebrates the power of human connection, the quiet dignity of everyday life, and the beauty of family. I am honored to be the guest curator for what will undoubtedly be a historic survey of Gibbs iconic métier. The most astonishing part is that this is only the beginning of his esteemed career.”
No Solace in the Shade will be organized in four sections: “Sounds of Color: Recorded Memories,” “Solace,” “Admiration,” and “Expansion.” Each section will orient the subjects, aesthetics and compositional strategies that Gibbs employs. “Sounds of Color” will feature paintings, named for musical notes, that feature a recurring figure Gibbs calls “Salvador” and based on an anonymous photograph from an old scrapbook. “Solace” will feature paintings that document beautiful moments of men in repose and trouble historical misconceptions about rest and Black identity. “Admiration” will survey works with themes of community, familial and fraternal gatherings, and the healing representation of home as a haven. Lastly, “Expansion” will include commissioned portraits of men Gibbs admires, including the late U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings and August Wilson, and portraits of figures Gibbs has dreamed of—allegories more than men—who reflect aspects of his growth as a painter, father, husband and friend. Complementing these themes, a variety of public programs will be offered during the run of the exhibition, including artist talks, music and dance performances, and artmaking workshops.
The accompanying fully illustrated catalogue—the first monographic treatment of Gibbs’s work—will feature an essay exploring the history of Gibbs’s creative practice and its value to the tradition of figurative art written by Carroll. Additional essays include a conversation with Jessica Bell Brown, Curator and Department Head for Contemporary Art at the Baltimore Museum of Art, focusing on questions of Gibbs’s practice, process and style; a discussion with curator and cultural critic Larry Ossei-Mensah that explores the cultural references and inspiration that inform Gibbs’s practice; and a long-form lyrical poem in response to Gibbs’s series “Sounds of Color: Recorded Memories” by filmmaker and poet NIA JUNE. Additionally, the catalogue will feature images of Gibbs working in his studio over several months by Washington D.C.-based photographer Kelvin Bulluck.
No Solace in the Shade will be on view at the Brandywine Museum of Art from September 27, 2025, through March 1, 2026.
Posted 9-26-24
‘The Crafted World of Wharton Esherick’ exhibition to be presented by the Brandywine Museum of Art, October 13, 2024 – January 19, 2025
By Steven Brodsky
Wharton Esherick, Flat Top Desk, 1929 and 1962. Walnut and padouk, 28 x 82 x 36 in. Desk Chair, 1929. Walnut, padouk, laced leather seat, 28 x 18 x 18 in. Desk Figure, Bronze casting of 1929 Cocobolo original, 10 x 5 x 4 in. Wharton Esherick Museum Collection. Photo by Eoin O’Neill, courtesy of the Wharton Esherick Museum.
From a Brandywine Museum of Art press release:
Chadds Ford, PA, September 12, 2024 — Opening at the Brandywine Museum of Art this fall, The Crafted World of Wharton Esherick will explore the artistic legacy of Wharton Esherick (1887-1970), one of the most creative and interdisciplinary figures of twentieth-century American art, craft and design. Co-organized by the Brandywine and the Wharton Esherick Museum (WEM), this major exhibition will detail the artist’s career from his early woodcut illustrations for books by the avant-garde literati to his revolutionary reimagining of furniture forms as organic sculpture. The Crafted World features more than 70 works by the artist and will be the first exhibition to draw exclusively from WEM’s collection of over 3,000 objects. The exhibition will bring together works from across different media mastered by the artist—from painting, sculpture and printmaking to woodworking, furniture making and illustration—including many objects never before seen outside of Esherick’s home and studio. The Crafted World will debut at the Brandywine and will be on view from October 13, 2024 through January 19, 2025. The Museum has also organized a two-venue travel tour for the exhibition that will raise the profile of this remarkable artist.
Esherick is best known as the father of the Studio Furniture Movement, which saw artists bringing their unique voices to handmade, functional objects and craft traditions, often reinventing them with bold, experimental techniques and forms. He grew up in West Philadelphia and later moved to Malvern, PA, where he built his own home and studio on the slope of Valley Forge Mountain. Now operated as WEM, this National Historic Landmark for Architecture houses the world’s largest collection of Esherick’s artworks, spanning seven decades of artistic practice. “Esherick’s creative work was inseparable from his personal identity,” said Emily Zilber, WEM’s Director of Curatorial Affairs & Strategic Partnerships, and curator of the exhibition. “He considered his hand-crafted hillside home and studio, which he designed and built between 1926 and 1966, the best representation of his iconoclastic vision, calling it ‘an autobiography in three dimensions.’ It is significant, then, that The Crafted World is the largest exhibition ever organized from the remarkable collection housed in the artist’s home and studio.”
The Crafted World will be presented in thematic vignettes that focus attention on recurring design explorations across Esherick’s body of creative work. Through a variety of forms, formats and media, these vignettes will invite visitors to examine the artist’s unconventional way of life and some of his key artistic interests—urban versus rural life, the movement of the body in space, the power of patterns, and the organic growth of the natural world. Organized thematically, rather than by chronology or media, the exhibition will allow visitors to witness the evolution of Esherick’s thinking around these primary design concepts.
“This exhibition was originally conceived years ago as a small display of Esherick’s woodblock prints from WEM’s collection at the Brandywine Museum of Art, but the remarkable sweep of the artist’s cross-disciplinary creative brilliance quickly led to this more expansive examination,” said Thomas Padon, the James H. Duff Director of the Brandywine Museum of Art. “In a partnership forged over years of visits to the Wharton Esherick home and studio, conversations and deliberations, and marveling together over the artist’s work, Brandywine and our superb colleagues at WEM developed plans for this long overdue reassessment of Esherick’s contributions to American art.” WEM’s Executive Director, Julie Siglin, added, “Esherick engaged with the world in a collaborative way; likewise, this exhibition has been a fundamentally collaborative effort from the start. WEM is thrilled to share Esherick’s legacy more broadly with the world through this exciting partnership with the Brandywine.”
Although The Crafted World is not a comprehensive retrospective of the artist’s career, the exhibition uses WEM’s significant collection, made up largely of the works Esherick surrounded himself with, to highlight his integrated approach to living and artmaking. “Visitors to The Crafted World will be introduced to the artist’s singular voice, creativity and skill in a way that recontextualizes the objects with innovative thematic approaches to his work,” said Amanda Burdan, Senior Curator at the Brandywine, who provided organizational and curatorial guidance and coordination for the exhibition. “Works on view will explore Esherick’s intimate connection to the natural world and its materials, his skillful design approach and problem solving, interest in performance and the body, fascination with the natural world, enduring imaginative spirit, and even his wry sense of humor.”
The Crafted World will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue published by Rizzoli Electa. In addition to an essay by Zilber, this major publication includes contributions by Sarah Archer, a design and culture writer based in Philadelphia; Colin Fanning, Assistant Curator of European Decorative Arts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art; Ann Glasscock, Associate Curator and Decorative Arts Specialist at the Taft Museum of Art; Holly Gore, WEM’s Director of Interpretation and Associate Curator of Special Collections; and photography by Joshua McHugh, a renowned New York–based photographer who specializes in interior, architecture and design. Support for the exhibition catalogue is provided by the Decorative Arts Trust and the Furthermore Foundation.
Following its presentation in Chadds Ford at the Brandywine, The Crafted World of Wharton Esherick will travel to the Chazen Museum of Art in Madison, Wisconsin, and the Taft Museum of Art in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Posted 9-18-24
The school year is underway
By Steven Brodsky
… and great arts education programs are furthering the ability of students to see and portray the “many colors in a flower.”
Such a program might enable the little boy we met in “Flowers Are Red” to negate the negative impact of his first-day-at-school learning experience.
This would be possible, thanks to the transformative power of arts education and the presence of talented and caring teachers!
Posted 9-13-24
A Conversation With Victoria Browning Wyeth
By Steven Brodsky
Victoria Browning Wyeth is the granddaughter of Andrew Wyeth and the niece of Jamie Wyeth. She is the great-granddaughter of N.C. Wyeth. Victoria is widely known for her dynamic gallery talks and lectures on the life and art of Andrew Wyeth. Victoria is a gifted photographer; her photos have been exhibited at a number of museums.
What are some of your fondest memories of your grandmother?
One of my fondest memories of my grandmother were our nicknames for each other. I always called my grandmother by two names: “Betsy” or “Mamma Sheep Turd.” I realize the second name might raise a few eyebrows so let me explain. I grew up in New York City, but would spend every summer in Cushing Maine with my grandparents. As a young girl, and as a grown woman, I have always detested sand, dirt and bugs. When I was about nine or so, my grandparents purchased Allen Island (near Port Clyde, Maine), and, in addition, a very large flock of sheep to help with the lawn “maintenance. Along with the sheep came sheep turds…. EVERYWHERE. So, she called me “City Slicker” and I called her “Mamma Sheep Turd.” When I was in college and we wrote each other letters, the post office at my college would giggle when they handed me a letter because of the return address. I always smile when I think of the looks people gave us when we used these names for each other.
My second fondest memory was when she taught me to put on makeup and put my hair in a French twist. I can still feel her hands in my hair helping me pin it up. When it came to applying makeup she would always say, “Vic… less is more.” To this day I am not much of a makeup person.
Finally, my most recent favorite memory involved cooking for my grandmother (and my uncle Jamie) on Sunday nights. Betsy was the chef in the family – her meals were simply out of this world yummy. Mashed potatoes, cookies, creamed eggs, popovers, etc. You name it and she could make it. After my grandfather died she scaled back her cooking quite a bit. Around six or seven years ago I started cooking Sunday dinners for my family. I wasn’t the best chef at first; I burned fish more than I would like to admit. One of the things that still brings a smile to my face was watching her gobble up every last morsel. She would look at Jamie and me and say, “mmmmm this is good.”
Betsy handled much of the business affairs of her husband Andrew. What prepared her for this?
She always had such a powerful business sense. I’m not quite sure where this came from, but she handled Andy’s business affairs with such grace and intelligence. She was quite the inspiration.
Please describe how Betsy furthered the career of Andrew?
My grandmother helped further his career by supporting him in numerous ways. The most important was through her love: she loved him with all of her heart. She would always tell him what she thought of his newest painting – if he needed to simplify something, if the color was too intense, etc. She was also very instrumental in titling many of his paintings.
What was the extent of Betsy’s involvement in titling the paintings of her husband?
She had a huge role in the titles. Take the painting Wind from the Sea. When my grandparents were discussing the piece Betsy said, “It looks like a wind is coming in from the sea.” Andy replied, “That’s it!! Wind from the Sea.” Her vocabulary was most impressive. For example, she would do the New York Times crossword puzzles in ink. This gave her an incredible bank of words to choose from when she helped to title the work.
Her ability to title wasn’t limited to paintings: when I was in graduate school and writing long research papers, I would call her and tell her my paper topic. She would then call me back with a title. For example, I wrote a paper on shell shock in British troops during World War I. She came up with the title “Over the Top.”
Were you able to observe Andrew while he was painting? If you were, did he discuss what he was working on?
Andy HATED having people watch him paint. He felt that having you watch him paint was an invasion. The only times I watched him paint were: (1) outside my window in the summer. He would work on watercolors or drawings outside my parent’s house in Cushing, Maine. He didn’t know I was looking, but I was. I couldn’t help myself. This is when I was a young girl (under 13). (2) When I would accidentally walk into the house when he was working on something. I would apologize and he would smile and say, “Hi darlin’. I’m just finishing up.” (3) When I posed. This was my favorite because we got to discuss everything. I would barrage him with all sorts of questions about his work, his life, his friends, etc. The last time I posed (back in 2005) I was giving lectures at the Brandywine River Museum. It was so cool because I would incorporate what we talked about into my gallery talk that day.
How sensitive was Andrew to what critics wrote about him?
He couldn’t have cared less what the critics thought.
Which paintings of his do you believe he remained most attached to?
He was almost always most attached to the painting that he was working on.
To your knowledge, were there times in Andrew’s life when he was without artistic inspiration? If there were, how did he reacquire inspiration?
To the best of my knowledge this never happened. Even when he was in the hospital (for a hip replacement) he drew his hospital room and the view out the window. He was inspired by everything and everyone.
Of the photos that you took of Andrew Wyeth, is there one that especially evokes cherished memories? Can you share those memories with us?
The one I took of him painting outside my window in Cushing, Maine. He was painting me and we would start working very early in the morning – 6:45 a.m. I overslept one morning and rushed downstairs. As I looked out of the living room window, I found him sitting out there with his watercolor pad on his lap, tissues everywhere (to blot the paper) and his watercolor box by his side. Whenever I get sad and miss him, this is what I think of and it always makes me smile.
You’ve given many pro bono talks. Which of those talks have been most gratifying to you? Please tell us why.
My favorite talks, pro bono and paid, have been the ones I have done at the state and local prisons. I feel that those who are incarcerated should be exposed to art as much as possible. Since they can’t go to a museum, I bring a museum to them. For example, this past January I lectured on the work of my grandfather to the gentlemen at the Maine State Prison in Maine. I went on January 16th – which is a very special day for me – the anniversary of my grandfather’s death. It was a beautiful snowy day and I packed my car up with a bunch of my uncle’s and grandfather’s watercolors and drawings and headed to the prison. I thought it would be fun to create a pop-up gallery in the prison and even more interesting to bring one of my grandfather’s models with me. It was a very special day for all of us. I will never forget looking at the reactions on the guys faces as they looked at the art.
The Brandywine River Museum of Art is currently closed to the public (as are other museums) because of the COVID-19 crisis. Is there a painting in the Museum’s collection by Andrew Wyeth that, at this moment, you are especially looking forward to seeing when the doors reopen?
I love seeing my grandmother’s portrait – Maga’s Daughter. I’m very excited to go visit her and say hi.
