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Photo by Joel Plotkin
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When it was announced in September that board member Morris Stroud would be joining George “Frolic” Weymouth as co-chair of the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art, many in the art community thought the promotion would put Stroud in line to be Weymouth’s successor. However, Weymouth, who has been on the board since the museum opened in 1957, isn’t going anywhere just yet.
“The idea is that I’ll work closely with Frolic as co-chair, sorting out some issues that need to be focused on at the board level,” Stroud says. “He has been working thoughtfully on the possibility of a successor, and I could be one of many choices, but in the end it will be a board decision, one which I don’t see happening in the immediate future.”
Meanwhile, in his new role, one of Stroud’s primary goals is to expose new and younger generations to the art of the Wyeth family, American illustration and still life. He believes the art featured at the Brandywine museum is “incredibly moving,” and wants to share that experience with the public.
“Andrew and N.C. Wyeth’s art has a heightened sense of awareness, in that it makes the ordinary extraordinary,” Stroud says. “I feel like people are incredibly touched, in different ways, when they view these pieces. They’re at a level that’s accessible to a broad swatch of the public. This art speaks to people.”
As Stroud settles in, he and the board will begin preparations for the 100th anniversary of Andrew Wyeth’s birth, to be celebrated in 2017. “Andrew’s centennial looms large on the horizon for us,” Stroud says, “so 2017 promises to be a very special year at the museum.”
