Preserve Painter's Folly Petition

Below is a letter petition intended for the Chadds Ford Board of Supervisors. If you are compelled, please add your name to the formal petition at https://www.change.org/preservepaintersfolly

Painter’s Folly is a c. 1856-1857 Italianate house located in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Painter’s Folly is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is within the Chadds Ford Historic District and the Brandywine Battlefield Historic District.

Painter’s Folly is nationally significant for its connection to American art and the artistic interpretation of the Battle of the Brandywine. Famed American illustrator Howard Pyle operated a summer art school from 1898 to 1903 while residing at Painter’s Folly. Students of Pyle’s Chadd’s Ford art program included John V. Betts, Ethel Franklin Betts, Bertha Corson Day, Clyde O. DeLand, Harvey Dunn, Charlotte Harding, Winfield S. Lukens, Emlen McConnell, Maxfield Parish, Frank C. Schoonover, Jessie Willcox Smith, Sarah Stilwell Weber, and, famously, Newell Convers Wyeth. Painter’s Folly was later used as an art studio and refuge by Andrew Wyeth, beginning in 1989, and was the subject of multiple titled and untitled works by Wyeth. 

Many state and national organizations recognized the importance of Painter’s Folly in letters of support, including the Brandywine Conservancy, Daughters of the American Revolution, Eastern Pennsylvania Preservation Society, and the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. Outside of national recognition, Chadds Ford residents cherish Painter’s Folly as a touchstone of Chadds Ford identity. 

Painter’s Folly was purchased by Chadds Ford Township in 2018. We congratulate Chadds Ford Township on its preservation efforts to ensure that Painter’s Folly remains publicly accessible and is maintained as an essential heritage site in our community

Chadds Ford Township has partnered with numerous historical and preservation organizations, including the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, to explore potential ongoing preservation efforts for the building. Painter’s Folly, as a publicly accessible, preserved historic site, is a win-win for our community. Delaware County has many examples of successful, positive historic site co-stewardships, including the Grange Estate, the Lazaretto, and the Willows. 

In the case that Chadds Ford Township decides to offload Painter’s Folly, there are several options under the Second-Class Township Code, including sealed bidding, a public auction, and a conveyance or letting agreement with applicable entities, which all warrant thorough investigation. Historic preservation easements for the interior and exterior are advisable for all these options to ensure the long-term preservation of the land and building. The contents of the building’s interior, many of which belonged to the Sipalas, must be retained and preserved within Painter’s Folly. Chadds Ford Township should allocate sufficient time to investigate all possibilities. Preservation planning projects take time, and oftentimes new opportunities arise during that process. We encourage Chadds Ford Township to share a sense of a timeline, request that ample time be given to explore preservation partnerships, and provide regular, two-way updates to the community. 

The proposed next steps are:

• Chadds Ford Township will provide updates to the community at every Board of Supervisors meeting, including comments from the public and updates on investigations into co-stewardship and other forms of preservation partnerships.

•  Chadds Ford Township to publish a Request for Proposals for the adaptive reuse of Painter’s Folly and create a Review Board of Township staff and expert members of the public to examine all proposals.

• Chadds Ford Township to update the public at Board of Supervisors meetings on all officially submitted adaptive reuse proposals. 

• Chadds Ford Township to provide a clear scope of potential conservation and land easements for Painter’s Folly. 

• Chadds Ford Township to provide building access to the Painter’s Folly Liaison Professor Edward Worteck to ensure continued documentation of the building through professional preservation photography.  

• Chadds Ford Township to provide an anticipated timeline for the potential disposal of Painter’s Folly.

  
  

We ask that Chadds Ford Township not make a hasty decision and continue its investigation into the numerous preservation-oriented avenues for Painter’s Folly. The preservation community is willing and able to assist Chadds Ford Township in any way possible and is offering to join forces and relieve the burden of township employees. 

We look forward to hearing from Chadds Ford Township and to the bright future of Painter’s Folly!