Press Release

ANDREW WYETH EXHIBITION IN PHILADELPHIA INSPIRES THE ART OF THE LONG WEEKEND
Visitors Can See The Show In Philly And The Artist's Inspiration In The Brandywine Valley

PHILADELPHIA, November 4, 2005 - When Andrew Wyeth: Memory and Magic, a collection of 100 rarely seen works, goes on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (March 29-July 16, 2006), it will certainly motivate art lovers to explore the city and countryside that inspired the Brandywine Valley artist. Visitors to the region can perfect "The Art of the Long Weekend" with an itinerary highlighting the fine arts, performing arts, even the literary and culinary arts throughout Philadelphia and the Brandywine River environs. The three-day, two-night tour is available at www.gophila.com/itineraries.

LOCATION: Philadelphia and the Brandywine Valley

TRANSPORTATION: Feet, cab and automobile

TIME: Three-day, two-night getaway

SUMMARY: A ramble through artistic treasures and landmarks in Philadelphia and the Brandywine Valley, including museums, galleries, theaters and restaurants

HIGHLIGHTS: Philadelphia and Brandywine Valley museums, a favorite Andrew Wyeth dining hangout and a barn-turned-bookstore

ITINERARY:

Day One: Friday
Check into one of several Center City hotels participating in the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Andrew Wyeth: Memory and Magic hotel package. Details will be available at www.philamuseum.org beginning in January 2006. Consider the following spots must-sees during your art-focused trip to Philadelphia.

You may want to begin your visit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, site of the Wyeth retrospective featuring more than 100 of the artist's works, including three from the Art Museum's permanent collection. Don't leave without viewing some of the Museum's other 200 galleries, where a full range of fine and applied arts from Asia, Europe and the U.S. are on display.

Down the Parkway a few blocks is the Rodin Museum. This little gem features more works by Auguste Rodin anywhere outside of Paris. An original casting of The Thinker, one of the artist's most famous sculptures, is a Parkway landmark.

On Logan Circle is the Swann Memorial Fountain by Alexander Stirling Calder, one of three Calder family members whose work is displayed in the city. The reclining figures represent the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers and the Wissahickon Creek.

When it's time for lunch, consider DiBruno's, a gourmet market with a mouth-watering array of imported cheeses and delicacies. Have them pack up a picnic lunch, then stroll around the corner to Rittenhouse Square, where you'll feel like you stepped into an Impressionist painting. There is also Le Jardin, a little bistro inside the Philadelphia Art Alliance. The grand mansion overlooks Rittenhouse Square and after lunch, you can wander the galleries of the nation's oldest multi-disciplinary center for the arts.

A trip to the renowned Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is another must-see. Roaming through the intimate galleries of this Frank Furness-designed architectural fantasy, you'll find works by Thomas Eakins, Charles Wilson Peale, Mary Cassatt and, of course, Andrew Wyeth. (His Young America painting depicts a young boy on his bike.)

Come dinner time, head to the Avenue of the Arts, also known as Broad Street. (It is located between 13th and 15th Streets.) Within a few blocks, there are dozens of restaurants to satisfy any culinary craving. The tiny Vetri has earned national kudos for its fresh Italian menu, the clubby Capital Grille specializes in steaks, Bliss features American contemporary and Pasion delights with Latin flavors.

After you've indulged in dessert, it is show time on the Avenue. On any given night, you might be able to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, catch a first-run play at the Wilma Theater, see a Broadway musical at the Academy of Music or watch the work of an emerging playwright at the Prince Music Theater. Zanzibar Blue is the perfect spot for pre- or post-show drinks and late-night jazz.

Day 2: Saturday
Before heading out to the Brandywine Valley, fuel up at the Reading Terminal Market, a Philadelphia tradition since 1892 that's now home to nearly 80 vendors. Pick up a fresh-baked brioche from Le Bus Bakery, get a jump-start with a latte from Old City Coffee or snag a booth at the Down Home Diner for rock shrimp with garlic and grits or homemade flapjacks.

Just 45 minutes outside of Center City, the Brandywine Valley is home to dozens of picturesque B&Bs. The Inn at Whitewing Farm is the kind of place that would have inspired Andrew Wyeth. It's a 1700s farmhouse on 43 rambling acres with a guest cottage overlooking a pond. After you check in, you might want to play a set of tennis on the courts or a round of golf on the 10-hole course.

When you're ready to hit the road again, head to the Brandywine River Museum, a converted grist mill that is a mecca for Wyeth fans. Nestled beside the historic Brandywine River, the Museum's six main galleries celebrate three generations of Wyeths, along with other Brandywine School artists. In conjunction with the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Wyeth show, the Brandywine River Museum will host special programming of its own. Between April and November, you can also tour the Kuerner Farm, which inspired more than 1,000 of Andrew Wyeth's paintings. For an added Wyeth fix, you can go inside N.C. Wyeth's home and studio.

For lunch, make like a local, and grab a table at low-key Hank's Place. You just might run into Andrew Wyeth himself.

Next stop is Brandywine Battlefield, scene of the infamous Revolutionary War battle and a creative influence on generations of Wyeths. N.C. Wyeth's teacher, Howard Pyle, often took his students there, expounding on the site’s "blood in the soil" and the importance of connecting to their artistic subjects.

Longwood Gardens is just down the road and a must-see with 1,050 colorful acres. Each garden design is a horticultural work of art, but it is the recently renovated East Conservatory, with its new water features, towering trees and seasonal displays that will take your breath away.

If you'd prefer to give your credit card a work out, head to downtown West Chester, where savvy gallery and boutique owners offer sophisticated and high-quality merchandise. The Visual Expansion Gallery specializes in original works and prints by Andrew Wyeth and other Brandywine School artists. On the other end of the spectrum, Dragonfly Gallery exhibits emerging talents working in textiles, metals and other media, while the Garrubbo Bazan Gallery takes a regional approach showing contemporary works from around the Delaware Valley.

There are numerous possibilities for dinner. If you're in the mood for casual, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant is your spot. Brewmaster Chris LaPierre was the darling of the recent Great American Beer Festival, winning bronze for his handcrafted "Ironbound Ale." The Gables at Chadds Ford, once a dairy barn, is now an sophisticated favorite of foodies. Start off with the mushroom soup – you are in mushroom country after all. After dinner, stick around for a few sets of jazz.

Day 3: Sunday
For breakfast, you won't want to miss what Whitewing Farm's pastry chef Cathleen Ryan has whipped up. The menu varies by what's in season, but some of her specialties include ginger pear pancakes and an oatmeal soufflé.

Start your morning with a visit to Baldwin's Book Barn, a converted 1822 rustic stone barn that's now delightfully crammed with more than 300,000 books, rare manuscripts and antique artwork.

Make Chaddsford Winery the last stop on your trip. On weekends, you can choose a guided or self-guided tour through the processing area, tank and barrel rooms and the bottling center.

ADDRESS BOOK
Philadelphia/Brandywine Valley Weekend

Accommodations:
Inn at Whitewing Farm
P.O. Box 98
Kennett Square (610) 388-2664, www.whitewingfarm.com

Restaurants:
Bliss 220
S. Broad Street
(215) 731-1100, www.bliss-restaurant.com

Capital Grille
1338 Chestnut Street
(215) 545-9588, www.thecapitalgrille.com

DiBruno's
1730 Chestnut Street
(215) 665-9220, www.dibruno.com

Down Home Diner
Reading Terminal Market
12th & Arch Streets
(215) 627-1955, www.downhomediner.com

The Gables at Chadds Ford
423 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford
(610) 388-7700, www.thegablesatchaddsford.com

Hank's Place
Routes 1 & 100, Chadds Ford
(610) 388-7061

Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant
3 W. Gay Street, West Chester
(610) 738-9600, www.ironhillbrewery.com

Le Bus Bakery
Reading Terminal Market
12th & Arch Streets
(215) 592-0422, www.lebusbakery.com

Le Jardin
251 S. 18th Street
(215) 545-0821, www.lejardinsquare.com

Old City Coffee
Reading Terminal Market
12th & Arch Streets
(215) 592-1897, www.oldcitycoffee.com

Pasion!
211 S. 15th Street
(215) 875-9895, www.pasionrestaurant.com

Reading Terminal Market
12th & Arch Streets
(215) 922-2317, www.readingterminalmarket.org

Vetri
1312 Spruce Street
(215) 732-3478, www.vetriristorante.com

Shops:
Baldwin's Book Barn
865 Lenape Road, West Chester
(610) 696-0816, www.bookbarn.com

Dragonfly Gallery
29 S. High Street, West Chester
(610) 692-2560, www.thedragonflygallery.com

Garrubbo Bazan Gallery
16 W. Market Street, West Chester
(610) 696-1266, www.gbgfineart.com

Visual Expansion Gallery
126 N. High Street, West Chester
(610) 436-8697

Attractions:
Academy of Music
Broad & Locust Streets
(215) 893-1999, www.academyofmusic.org

Brandywine Battlefield Park
1491 Baltimore Pike (Opposite Ring Road on Route 1)
(610) 459-3342, www.ushistory.org/brandywine

Brandywine River Museum (tours available to N.C. Wyeth Home and Studio and Kuerner Farm)
Route 1 & Creek Road
(610) 388-2700, www.brandywinemuseum.org

Chaddsford Winery
632 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford
(610) 388-6221, www.chaddsford.com

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
260 S. Broad Street
(215) 790-5800, www.kimmelcenter.org

Logan Circle
18th Street at Benjamin Franklin Parkway

Longwood Gardens
1001 Longwood Road (at Route 1) Kennett Square
(610) 388-1000 Phone www.longwoodgardens.org

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
118 N. Broad Street
(215) 972-7600, www.pafa.org

Rodin Museum
22nd Street & Benjamin Franklin Parkway
(215) 763-8100, www.rodinmuseum.org

Philadelphia Art Alliance
251 S. 18th Street
(215) 545-4302, www.philartalliance.org

Philadelphia Museum of Art
26th Street & the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
(215) 763-810, www.philamuseum.org

Prince Music Theater
1412 Chestnut Street
(215) 569-9700, www.princemusictheater.org

Rittenhouse Square
18th & Walnut Streets

Wilma Theater
265 S. Broad Street
(215) 546-7824, www.wilmatheater.org

Zanzibar Blue
200 S. Broad Street
(215) 732-4500, www.zanzibarblue.com

Note to Editors: For photos of Greater Philadelphia, visit our Photo Gallery.

CONTACT:

Donna Schorr, GPTMC
(215) 599-0782, donna@gptmc.com