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Exposition of the same year. Originallycalled the Pennsylvania Museum andSchool of Industrial Art, its foundingwas inspired by the South KensingtonMuseum (now the Victoria and AlbertMuseum) in London, which grew outof the Great Exhibition of 1851. ThePhiladelphia Museum of Art housesover 225,000 works of art and a wealthof exhibitions, encompassing some ofthe greatest achievements of humancreativity.

Rodin Museum

Located near the Philadelphia Museumof Art, the Rodin Museum housesthe largest public collection of works,outside of Paris, by the celebrated latenineteenth-century French sculptorAuguste Rodin.

The Barnes Foundation

On May 19, 2012, the Barnes Founda -tion will unveil its new Philadelphia

home. In rooms reflective of the inti -mate layout and unique characterof the original Merion galleries, thisrenowned art collection will be acces -sible to the public as never before.Celebrated for its exceptional breadth,depth, and quality, the Barnes Foun -dation art collection includes worksby some of the greatest European andAmerican masters of impressionism,post-impressionism, and early mod-ern art, as well as African sculpture,Pennsylvania German decorative arts,Native-American textiles, metalwork,and more.

The Delaware Art Museum

The Delaware Art Museum is bestknown for its large collection ofBritish Pre-Raphaelite art; works byWilmington-native Howard Pyle andfellow American illustrators; and urbanlandscapes by John Sloan and his circle.Founded in 1912, the Delaware ArtMuseum houses a world-renownedcollection that focuses on Americanart and illustration from the nine -teenth to the twenty-first centuries,as well as the British Pre-Raphaelitemovement of the mid-nineteenthcentury. The Museum features anoutdoor Sculpture Park, the HelenFarr Sloan Library & Archives, StudioArt Classes, and the interactive Kids’Corner learning area.

Coming AttractionsPreview of the 2012 IAMFA Mid-AtlanticConferenceBy the 2012 Conference Team

Welcome to Philadelphiaand the Brandywine Valleyin 2012!

By the time you read this, it will bejust eight months until the start of the22nd IAMFA Annual Conference. The2012 Conference will be called theMid-Atlantic Conference becausevenues will be in an area in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.All venues will be within 30 minutesof each other, but are located in twostates: Delaware and Pennsylvania,both rich in American history.The conference is scheduled for

September 16–19, 2012, so mark yourcalendars, and begin soon to makeyour plans to attend. Registration infor -mation is up on the www.IAMFA.ORGwebsite now, so don’t wait—make yourplans now!Read on for information on each of

the 2012 Conference venues.

Philadelphia Museumof Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art isamong the largest art museums inthe United States. It is located at thewestern end of the Benjamin FranklinParkway, in Philadelphia’s FairmountPark. The Museum was established in1876 in conjunction with the Centen nial

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Winterthur Museum andCountry Estate

Winterthur Museum and Country Estateis located in Winterthur, Delaware, andhouses one of the most important col -lections of Americana in the UnitedStates. It was the former home ofHenry Francis du Pont (1880–1969):a renowned antiques collector andhorticulturist. Until recently, it wasknown as the “Henry Francis DuPontWinterthur Museum”.Winterthur is situated on 979 acres

(4 km2), near Brandywine Creek, with60 acres (0.2 km2) of naturalistic gar -dens. There were 2,500 acres (10 km2)when it functioned as a country estate.There are 175 period-room displays

in the Museum and approximately85,000 objects. Most rooms are opento the public on small, guided tours.The collection spans more than twocenturies of American decorative arts,notably from 1640 to 1860, and con -tains some of the most important piecesof American furniture and fine art.The Winterthur Library and ResearchCenter includes more than 87,000 vol -umes and approximately 500,000 manu -scripts and images, mostly related toAmerican history, the decorative arts,and architecture. The facility also housesextensive conservation, research, andeducation facilities.In the 1990s, more informal museum

galleries were opened in a new build -ing adjacent to the main house, wherespecial rotating and permanent exhi -bits are now housed. The Museum is

also home to the Winterthur Programin Early American Culture and theWinterthur/University of DelawareArt Conservation program.

Hagley Museum

Located close to Winterthur, HagleyMuseum and Library is where thedu Pont story begins. It was here thatin 1802 E.I. du Pont established a gun -powder mill, which evolved into a majorinternational corporation with world -wide impact. We will visit the scenic235-acre campus along the banks of theBrandywine River, which includes theoriginal mills of the DuPont Company,working machinery, a restored workers’community, and the fascinating linksbetween history, science, and technology.

Longwood Gardens

Longwood Gardens consists of over1,077 acres (435 ha) of gardens, wood -lands, and meadows in Kennett Square,Pennsylvania in the Brandy wine CreekValley. It is one of the premier botanicalgardens in the United States, and isopen to visitors year-round offering

exotic plants and horticulture (bothindoor and outdoor), events andperformances, seasonal and themedattractions, as well as educationallectures, courses and workshops. What is now Longwood Gardens

was originally purchased from WilliamPenn in 1700 by a fellow Quaker namedGeorge Peirce (1646–1734). Althoughit started as a working farm, in 1798twin brothers Joshua and Samuel Peirceplanted the first specimens of an arbor -etum, originally named Peirce’s Park,which has been open to the publicalmost continuously since that time.By 1850, they had amassed one of thefinest collections of trees in the nation.Industrialist Pierre S. du Pont

(1870–1954) purchased the propertyfrom the Peirce family in 1906 to savethe arboretum from being sold forlumber. He made it his private estateand, from 1906 until the 1930s,du Pont added extensively to theproperty. A world traveler from anearly age, du Pont was often inspiredto add features to the garden afterattending world’s fairs, the most notableadditions being the massive conserva -tory, complete with a massive pipeorgan, and the extensive system offountains. Mr. Du Pont opened hisestate to the public many days of theyear during his occupancy and waseven known, on rare occasions,to personally (and anonymously)provide tours to visitors.

National Museum ofAmerican Jewish History

The National Museum of AmericanJewish History has long been a vitalcomponent in the cultural life ofPhiladelphia. Over the course of its

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history, the NMAJH has attracted abroad regional audience to its publicprograms, while exploring AmericanJewish identity through lectures, paneldiscussions, authors’ talks, films, chil -dren’s activities, theater, and music.The Museum has displayed more thana hundred exhibitions in its first threedecades of existence. As the reposi-tory of the largest collection of JewishAmericana in the world, with morethan 25,000 objects, the NMAJH hasdeveloped extensive institutional expe -rience in preservation, conservationand collections management sup -porting the fulfillment of its missionto preserve the material culture ofAmerican Jews.

Independence Hall

Constructed between 1732 and 1756as the State House of the Province ofPennsylvania, Independence Hall isconsidered a fine example of Georgianarchitecture. From 1775 to 1783 (exceptfor the winter of 1777–1778, whenPhiladelphia was occupied by theBritish Army), this was the meetingplace for the Second ContinentalCongress. It was in the Assembly Roomof this building that George Washingtonwas appointed Commander-in-Chiefof the Continental Army in 1775, and

the Declaration of Independence wasadopted here on July 4, 1776. In thesame room, the design of the Americanflag was agreed upon in 1777; theArticles of Confederation were adoptedin 1781; and the U. S. Constitutionwas drafted in 1787. The building,inside and out, has been restoredwherever possible to its original late-eighteenth-century appearance. Mostof the furnishings are period pieces.The “rising sun” chair used by GeorgeWashington as he presided over theConstitutional Convention is original.

National ConstitutionCenter

Located on Independence Mall, theNational Constitution Center bringsthe U.S. Constitution to life for thewhole family through multimedia exhi -bitions, live performances, timely publicprograms and dynamic educationalresources. As America’s first and onlynon-partisan, non-profit institution

devoted to the Constitution, the Centerilluminates constitutional ideals andinspires acts of citizenship, so that “Wethe People” may better secure theblessings of liberty to ourselves andour posterity.

Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia

Located in one of Philadelphia’s mosthistoric buildings, the Ritz-CarltonPhiladelphia is a luxury hotel situated onthe city’s Avenue of the Arts: a stretchof Broad Street that is loaded with finearts venues. It is also within walkingdis tance of a number of other notableattractions, including the KimmelCenter, the Academy of Music, City Hall,Rittenhouse Square, several theaters,and many historical buildings.The hotel itself is located in the old

Girard Bank Building, which was builtin the 1830s. This stunning Neoclassicalbuilding with its signature rotunda isan ideal setting for a luxury hotel, andhas become one of the most popularlodging choices in the city for those whoare looking for upscale accommodation.This is just a taste of what awaits

you at the Annual Conference inPhiladelphia and the BrandywineValley in 2012. We look forward tohosting you and your families.

Past issues of Papyruscan be found on IAMFA's website

www.IAMFA.org