Museum

Winterthur Museum is filled with historic and decorative objects collected and arranged according to the aesthetic principles of its visionary, Henry Francis du Pont. A passionate collector throughout his life, he transformed his family home into a showplace for objects made and used for centuries, then opened it as a museum to share America’s diverse stories with the public. The collection of more than 90,000 objects includes items ranging from the streamlined, functional furniture produced by the Shakers to opulent masterworks of 18th-century craftsmanship. Fine art such as works by America’s greatest early painters fill the rooms, as well as objects newly discovered and understood to be the work of enslaved individuals. Du Pont created spaces where his visitors would be immersed in beauty as well as history. We honor that tradition today, preserving the aesthetics of the museum while also telling the lesser-known stories of people and events that shaped our nation.