A case study: The Cecil and Lancaster Rooms at Winterthur - Winterthur - Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum

Magazine Antiques, Jan, 2002 by Brock Jobe

The period rooms at Winterthur offer visitors two perspectives on the past. In their decoration, many reflect the taste of henry Francis du Pont (see p. 154, Pl. I) when the house served as his home from 1931 to 1951. Others, however, illustrate his decision during the 1940s to transform his country seat into a museum. In every case, du Pont sought to preserve what he described as "the evidences of early life in America." (1) Yet evidence of his own had are conspicuous throughout the rooms as well.

Of all the room at Winterthur, none better epitomize this combination of motivations than the complex used by du Pont as his bedroom and sitting room (Pls. I and II). During his residence at Winterthur, the two rooms served as his command post, the site from which he managed the many individuals responsible for the daily oversight of this extraordinary estate. By 1951 these rooms had acquired the names Cecil and Lancaster Rooms, in honor of the Maryland and Virginia counties from which their paneling had come. After Winterthur opened as a museum, the rooms served as documents of du Pont's approach to period interiors, uniting architecture of a particular era with furnishings of that same period. This article will explore the original context of the two rooms, their removal and reinstallation at Winterthur, their initial decoration and use by du Pont in the early 1930, and their conversion to museum rooms in 1951.

Shortly after the death of his father, Henry Algernon du Pont (1838-1926), in December 1926, Henry Francis du Pont began to plan the expansion and redecoration of Winterthur. He described his aims with clarity and confidence. "After the opening of the 'American Wing' at the Metropolitan Museum in New York in 1924, and another such wing in the Brooklyn Museum, "he wrote, "it occurred to me to undertake a similar venture, and I decided to add an American wing to Winterthur." (2) The immense wing spilled down the hillside behind the structure his father had enlarged a quarter of a century earlier. The eclectic Renaissance revival embellishments of the older house were stripped away and the entire building -- wing and main block alike--were clad in a subdued skin of stucco punctuated by Georgian details. The massive construction project continued from 1929 until early 1931, when du Pont, his wife, Ruth Wales du Pont (1889-1967), and their two daughters returned to the remodeled house.

The new house had four principal floors. The entry level provided receiving rooms for friends, family, and guests; above was a floor for entertaining. There guests would dine in splendor at tables arranged with exacting precision by du Pont himself and surrounded by portraits of George Washington, silver tankards by Paul Revere, and outstanding Federal furniture. Other parlors were used for after-dinner conversation or games of bridge, a favorite family pastime. The third floor had accommodations for guests, and the fourth level afforded space for the family, including separate suites for the two daughters and individual apartments for H.F. and Ruth du Pont.

Their daughter Ruth (1922-) remembers vividly her father's early morning routine on this upper floor. "My father, up at sunrise," she recalled," would leave his sleeping wife and walk down the long hall to his own rooms-bedroom, bathroom, dressing room, and study-where, with hot water and lemon juice, he would start on the business of his day." (3) He began by reading the mail, meeting with the staff, or calling to schedule appointments. His energy made a memorable impression on those close to him. Charles F. Montgomery (1910-1978), the first director of Winterthur, later noted that during the two years prior to the opening of the museum in 1951,

I expected the first call from Harry before 7 A.M. (frequently, there were a dozen before I left for the office at 8.30.) And, many is the time I have seen his room ablaze with lights as I passed his hose at 12.30 or 1 A.M. in the morning. He was still at his mail and his reading -- the formidable pile of magazines, newspapers, and journals always laid out on the day bed in his sitting room. (4)

Other members of the staff remember the familiar "line-up," as they waited outside his sitting room in the early morning. Foremen came to see him every morning. He answered their questions and told them what he wanted done, relying on the daily notes he kept in a small black notebook. He sought to get "things working right away" and expected prompt attention to his demands. (5) His determination, impatience, and perfectionism were legendary. "A hundred times he said to me, reminisced Montgomery, "'we must get this completed before I die.' And finally I came to the point where I said, 'Mr. du Pont,...we'll all be dead before you are if we do it.'" (6)

H. F. du Pont's bedroom and sitting room exemplified his goals throughout the house. He favored stately architectural detail, worn and faded surfaces, furnishings that matched the period of the woodwork, and, when possible, dramatic views into his beloved garden. In this case, both rooms were fully paneled on all four walls and adorned with ornamental cupboards or niches flanking the fireplace. The bedroom focused on the Queen Anne style, while the sitting room emphasized the Chippendale era.