Last updated: 8/30/2012
1 Hoffman's Mill RoadChadds Ford, PA 19317
P.O. Box 141Chadds Ford, PA 19317
Closed Christmas Day; (Extended hours until 6:00 p.m., Dec. 26-30)
Adults: $12
Seniors (over 65): $8
Brandywine Conservancy Members: free
Students (): $6
Children (6-12): $6
Children under 6: Free
Exhibiting American art in a 19th-century grist mill, the Brandywine River Museum is internationally known for its unparalleled collection of works by three generations of Wyeths and its fine collection of American illustration, still life and landscape painting.
Designed by horticulturist FM Mooberry and begun in 1974, the gardens feature indigenous and some naturalized plants of the greater Brandywine region displayed in natural settings. In 1979, Lady Bird Johnson dedicated the gardens to Ford B. Draper and Henry A. Thouron, two individuals who played important roles in the establishment of the Brandywine Conservancy. Today, the gardens are maintained in memory of Mary Sharp.
The Brandywine Conservancy is committed to the belief that preservation and wise use of natural and cultural resources provides health, education, beauty, and increased quality of life for individuals and communities. The Conservancy assures present and future generations of open space, dependable water supplies, historical sites, and important works of American art, and also provides an understanding of the meaning and potential of these things, both separately and in relation to each other. The Conservancy preserves, protects, interprets, utilizes and displays these resources through its Brandywine River Museum and Environmental Management Center.
In the mid-1960s, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania in the historic Brandywine Valley, faced possible massive industrial development. The impact would have dramatically changed the character and future of a community that was then largely rural. At the same time, and for decades thereafter, development proposed throughout the region, particularly in floodplain areas, threatened to devastate water supplies for numerous communities in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware, including the City of Wilmington.
Appreciating the need for rapid action, a group of local residents bought endangered land and founded the Brandywine Conservancy in 1967. The first conservation easements, protecting more than five and one-half miles along the Brandywine, were granted in 1969. Today, the Conservancy holds more than 430 conservation easements and has protected more than 44,000 acres in Chester and Delaware counties, Pennsylvania, and in New Castle County, Delaware.
In 1971, the Conservancy opened the Brandywine River Museum in the renovated Hoffman’s Mill, a former gristmill built in 1864 that was part of the Conservancy’s first preservation efforts. With nearly six million visitors to date, the museum has established an international reputation for its unparalleled collection and its dedication to American art with primary emphasis on the art of the Brandywine region, American illustration, still life and landscape painting, and the work of the Wyeth family.
The Brandywine River Museum collects and preserves American art with primary emphasis on the art of the Brandywine region, American illustration and still life painting. Since 1971, when it was founded, the museum's collections have grown to more than 3,000 works of art by hundreds of artists and thousands of other objects in the N.C. Wyeth House & Studio
Landscape & Genre Painting
Still Life and Portraits
American Illustration
Three Generations of Wyeth Art
Adult Programs
Family & Children's Programs
School Programs
Teacher Services
The Brandywine River Museum Library includes unique resources related to a variety of American art and artists.
The Library contains approximately 3,500 volumes and approximately 22,000 additional items, including portfolios and scrapbooks, films and video tapes, sound cassettes and phonograph records, historic calendars and posters, exhibition posters and brochures, photographs, ephemera such as clippings, tear sheets, book jackets, and archival materials related to various artists. It also contains the Charles Scribners' Sons' card file regarding the illustrations commissioned by the publisher over many decades.
The reference room features books, exhibition catalogues and other printed materials relating to American art history and the Museum's history.
The Library is open by appointment to researchers, scholars, students, and others interested in using its resources for the study of topics related to American art history. For information about the Brandywine River Museum Library call 610-388-2700 or send an e-mail to: library@brandywine.org
Access: Students, Scholars, Members
Appointment required: Yes
Enjoy lunch and refreshments and a breathtaking view of the Brandywine River. The restaurant serves "Breakfast on the Brandywine" from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings, with a revolving menu that changes weekly. The cost of $6 per person includes juice and coffee, tea or milk. A child's breakfast is also available for $3.75. The cafeteria-style restaurant features floor-to-ceiling windows and seats approximately 80 people. Museum admission is required for restaurant access.
The Brandywine River Museum offers discounted admission rates
($10 per person; $8 per person for seniors) to groups of 14 or more.
Visitors are provided with a Museum Gallery Guide, allowing a self-guided tour. Docent-led tours, approximately one hour in length, are available Monday through Friday by reservation.
Tours of the museum's Wildflower Gardens, N.C. Wyeth House and Studio and Kuerner Farm are available on a limited basis. Transportation to the N.C. Wyeth House and Studio and Kuerner Farm is by Brandywine River Museum shuttle bus only, which can accommodate a maximum of 14 people. The tour is approximately one hour long.
The Museum Shop offers art reproductions, posters, gift items, books and other publications related to the Brandywine River Museum's exhibitions and collections, as well as environmental publications published by the Brandywine Conservancy's Environmental Management Center.
For informal cocktail gatherings or formal seated dinners, the Brandywine River Museum is a beautiful site to entertain staff, clients and VIPs. And, with Museum galleries open during events, guests will be thrilled by a magnificent collection of world-renowned art.
The Museum combines the charm of the old with the excitement of the new, the elegance of art with the grandeur of nature. Galleries boast original beams and wide board floors, while glass-walled lobbies provide expansive views of the historic river and countryside. The Brandywine River Museum is available year-round for events from 6 p.m. to midnight.
Gift Shop
Online Gift Shop
Special Event Rental
Restaurant
Group Tours
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