People across the United States will soon get a glimpse of the beautiful gardens of Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library as part of a new Postal Service series of stamps that celebrates 10 classic American gardens. The issuance was recently announced by the Postal Service.
“Winterthur is extraordinarily pleased to be so honored by the Postal Service and grateful that it will share the beauty of our historic gardens with the nation,” said Carol B. Cadou, the Charles F. Montgomery director and CEO of Winterthur. “I believe our founder, Henry Francis du Pont, would have been very proud to have Americans everywhere see his stunning landscape designs.”
An experienced and extraordinarily capable horticulturist, du Pont personally designed the 70-acre naturalistic garden that surrounds his former home. The garden is internationally renowned for its distinctive color schemes, remarkable specimen trees, and unique palette of plants, which created an aesthetic that was unique among American gardens of its time.
Winterthur also includes a formal garden designed by du Pont’s close friend, the pioneering woman landscape architect Marian Coffin. The stamp features a photograph of azaleas blooming around the reflecting pool in the Coffin-designed garden.
“The Winterthur garden is Mr. du Pont’s masterwork, so it is a remarkable artifact,” says Chris Strand, director of garden and estate at Winterthur. “We manage it carefully to preserve the design intent and skill of Mr. du Pont and the many staff who have cared for it for over a century, and we love sharing that vision with visitors every day.”
With this issuance, the Postal Service celebrates the beauty of American gardens. The pane of 20 stamps will feature different photographs of botanic, country estate, and municipal gardens taken between 1996 and 2014. The gardens include Biltmore Estate Gardens (North Carolina); Brooklyn Botanic Garden (New York); Chicago Botanic Garden (Illinois); Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (Maine); Dumbarton Oaks Garden (District of Columbia); The Huntington Botanical Gardens (California); Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park (Florida); Norfolk Botanical Garden (Virginia); Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens (Ohio); and Winterthur Garden (Delaware). Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamps with existing photos taken by Allen Rokach.
Winterthur, known worldwide for its preeminent collection of American decorative arts, naturalistic gardens, and research library for the study of American art and material culture, offers a variety of tours, exhibitions, programs, and activities throughout the year.
Winterthur is located on Route 52, six miles northwest of Wilmington, Del., and five miles south of U.S. Route 1.
For information, including special services, call 800-448-3883 or 302-888-4600 or visit www.winterthur.org.