Winterthur Museum Garden and Library

Public Visitation, Membership, and Public Relations:In FY23, Winterthur saw a spike of nearly 30,000 visitors, bringing the institution's total annual visitation to 109,626 for FY23. This increase in number relates to the slowing of the pandemic, as well as more large-scale programmatic offerings, a self-paced house tour, and a substantial increase in attendance from schools through a new free field trip program.Winterthur has also made concerted efforts to increase accessibility through free and low-cost programs in FY23. These programs include a series of free webinars, as well as a free community fair that highlighted local partners and drew several thousand visitors. FY23's increase in attendance, as well as the emphasis on community-based programs directly serves Winterthur's mission to inspire and educate through our collection, estate, and academic programs. The special exhibit during FY23 was "Jacqueline Kennedy and H. F. du Pont: From Winterthur to the White House", which opened in May 2022 and remained on view through January 2023. The exhibition explored the relationship between Winterthur's founder, H. F. du Pont and Jacqueline Kennedy. The exhibition was popular with groups and helped reach record numbers in the Gallery. Through partnerships with the White House Historical Association, we were able to attract new visitors, while exploring a topic many of our returning visitors knew little about. For the first time, the self-paced house tour was closely tied to the themes in the exhibition, setting a new course for interpretation of the historic home. The "Jacqueline Kennedy" exhibition gained a significant amount of attention nationwide, with features and reviews in The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. Guest curator Elaine Rice Bachmann and Winterthur director of collections Alexandra Deutsch spoke at various venues on the exhibition content. A separate small exhibition "Needle's I: Stitching Identity" also opened in September 2022 and a related conference was held in October of 2022. Our school programs attendance figures had a significant boost in FY23 due to the decision to waive all admission fees. In FY22, 4,500 students visited Winterthur through field trips. In FY23, that number jumped to over 10,000 students. Additionally, prior to FY23, students typically only spent an hour and half at Winterthur and participated in a limited number of experiences. We have shifted that model so that students now spend nearly an entire day at Winterthur and have the option to experience multiple aspects of the institution including the collection, gardens, library, and conservation labs. In July of 2022, we hosted the second annual Artisan Market, which saw just over 5,000 visitors and featured over 100 local artisans. This program offers an opportunity for artisans to gain massive exposure at a relatively low cost. Additionally, the program utilizes multiple areas of the grounds, allowing visitors to experience Winterthur's beauty in a social and restorative setting. In January of 2023, we created a new position, Manager of Continuing Education, whose primary role is to create enriching and immersive experiences for adults seeking deep dives into the collection. Her work since then has greatly expanded and improved our scholarly and academic offerings and there are plans for continued expansion in the next several years.Winterthur was supported in FY23 by approximately 11,000 member households, 93% of which reside in DE, PA, MD, or NJ. Membership at Winterthur is composed of 10 different individual membership levels, 1 corporate membership, and 3 donor societies, with annual dues ranging from $20 to $25,000+. Members made up a significant portion of general admission and add-on tickets, as well as event attendance in FY23.

Garden / Facilities Program:Winterthur maintains a world-renowned 60-acre historic garden nestled within a nearly 1000-acre landscape with woodlands, meadows, and waterways. Visitors come from all parts of the globe. The collection of rare and historic plants includes magnolias, azaleas, minor bulbs, conifers, and specimen trees. Significant varieties in the collection are tracked or "accessioned" through a records system, which currently includes more than 15,000 accessions. Winterthur preserves the legacy of the historic garden through continued restoration and enhancement of garden areas such as the Sundial Garden, Reflecting Pool, and Enchanted Woods and through the sensitive care and restoration of ironwork and statuary throughout the landscape.

Curatorial, Conservation, Education, Library Programs:Collections in FY23 Winterthur acquired and accessioned by gift, bequest, and purchase 355 objects and deaccessioned 49. Staff from Registration, Conservation, and Exhibitions worked to prepare for the "Ann Lowe: American Couturier" exhibition in the fall of 2023. This exhibition required coordination of loans from more than 20 partners, and conservation work began in the Winterthur labs two years in advance of the exhibition to prepare for photography for the exhibition publication, another project that Exhibitions, Conservation, and Publications worked on together. Collections staff also worked with Exhibitions to install new acquisitions in the galleries.Research Fellowship Program - Winterthur administers a Research Fellowship Program, which annually funds national and international scholars and creators to conduct research at Winterthur. Winterthur hosted 37 Research Fellows in FY23. The Program provides Research Fellows with staff support in areas of logistics and project consultations; access to collections and facilities; opportunities to present and publish; and opportunities to interface with graduate students.Graduate Programs - With University of Delaware, Winterthur administers and provides instruction in the Winterthur/UD graduate programs (the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture and the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation). To date, there have been 1,059 graduates of these two programs. Graduate Program activity includes teaching core, elective, and independent study coursework at Winterthur; organizing and leading national and international field study trips; serving as major/thesis advisors and providing mentorship and career counseling for students; identifying internship opportunities; organizing program events; identifying and facilitating collaborative opportunities between the two programs and with University of Delaware departments for student coursework, professional development and research funding, and campus resources; and supporting successful postgraduate placement. Winterthur Portfolio - In partnership with the University of Chicago Press, Winterthur administers an in-house academic journal, Winterthur Portfolio: A Journal of American Material Culture, publishing 3 issues annually. Winterthur Portfolio activity includes: solicitation/selection/editing of peer-reviewed articles and book reviews for publication; working with the Press on aspects of the journal's production; enhancing support for authors and promoting guidelines for sharing published work; promoting the journal and Winterthur at professional events; and overseeing the journal's editorial board and budget. Winterthur Library - The Winterthur Library acquires, preserves, and makes its collections available to the public; supports the research and scholarly activities of students, external scholars, and members of the public; provides instruction for students in undergraduate and graduate programs; and develops programs, events, and outreach initiatives. During FY23 the library added 601 books, periodicals, and archival and manuscript lots by purchase and gift, lent 57 items for internal and external exhibitions, and provided 1,157 items (120 loans and 1,037 scans) through interlibrary loan. The library saw 1,800 users by appointment to use the library circulating and special collections.