"In themselves a textile museum": the formation of the textile collection at the H.F. du Pont Winterthur Museum
Date
1999
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
This paper examines the way that Henry Francis du Pont purchased and used textiles from 1923 until 1969, specifically considering such aspects as patterns of collecting and sources for these objects. The thousands of textiles acquired, now part of the Winterthur Museum, are widely acknowledged as one of the finest collections in the United States. The purpose of this paper is twofold: to examine the formation of the textile collection in the context of period scholarship and to begin to explore the relationship of the documentary evidence of these objects to the textiles that are in the collection today. ☐ I have created a database of more than 1,800 textiles acquired by du Pont from 1923 to 1951 including such information as dates of acquisition, sources, prices and descriptions of the textiles. For these purchases, du Pont worked with nearly 250 different dealers and shops and I will examine du Pont's relationship with one individual dealer who specialized in textiles, Alice Baldwin Beer. I have also created a database of textiles accessioned by the Winterthur Museum between 1952 and 1969. Utilizing these databases and related correspondence, this paper discusses the nature of the textile collecting over the time period under consideration. ☐ There axe two currents in du Pont's collecting: the early acqusitions that reflect folk-inspired taste as demonstrated by hooked rugs and other objects deemed suitably "American," and the later purchases that display a tendency toward refined European textiles used to decorate rooms at Winterthur. A closer examination of the history of these European woven textiles reveals a shift in perception about their collection and use. As the Winterthur Museum came into being, a different type of activity and attitude regarding these objects began to emerge. Instead of recyclable commodities, textiles came to be seen as examples of material culture with intrinsic worth.