Horticulturist and Founder of the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library. He was the only surviving son of Henry Algernon DuPont, a prominent member of the DuPont family of Delaware who served as President of the Wilmington and Northern Railroad Company, and great-grandson of Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours, the founder of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. DuPont attended the Groton School and the Bussey Institution at Harvard University, a respected biological institute teaching practical agriculture and horticulture. He began breeding Holstein Friesian cattle at his father's Winterthur estate and became well-known as one of the premier breeders in the United States. He also designed and developed extensive gardens on the 2,500 acre property. DuPont is perhaps best known, however, for his passionate interest in Colonial American furniture and decorative arts. He inherited the Winterthur estate and it was used to display his impressive collection. It included entire rooms salvaged from historic old houses that were being demolished. The size of his collection dictated the size of the house, thus necessitating frequent expansions. The house numbered 30 rooms when he inherited it and by the time of his death it numbered 175 rooms. He established it as the Winterthur Museum and Country Estate in 1951 and it is now known as the Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library. It is ranked among the premier museums of American Decorative Arts in the world. DuPont was recognized as an expert on Colonial American furniture and decorative arts and was asked in 1961 by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy to lead the Fine Arts Committee tasked with overseeing the restoration of the White House.
Horticulturist and Founder of the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library. He was the only surviving son of Henry Algernon DuPont, a prominent member of the DuPont family of Delaware who served as President of the Wilmington and Northern Railroad Company, and great-grandson of Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours, the founder of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. DuPont attended the Groton School and the Bussey Institution at Harvard University, a respected biological institute teaching practical agriculture and horticulture. He began breeding Holstein Friesian cattle at his father's Winterthur estate and became well-known as one of the premier breeders in the United States. He also designed and developed extensive gardens on the 2,500 acre property. DuPont is perhaps best known, however, for his passionate interest in Colonial American furniture and decorative arts. He inherited the Winterthur estate and it was used to display his impressive collection. It included entire rooms salvaged from historic old houses that were being demolished. The size of his collection dictated the size of the house, thus necessitating frequent expansions. The house numbered 30 rooms when he inherited it and by the time of his death it numbered 175 rooms. He established it as the Winterthur Museum and Country Estate in 1951 and it is now known as the Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library. It is ranked among the premier museums of American Decorative Arts in the world. DuPont was recognized as an expert on Colonial American furniture and decorative arts and was asked in 1961 by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy to lead the Fine Arts Committee tasked with overseeing the restoration of the White House.
Bio by: CMWJR
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