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The Painter’s Folly Preservation Alliance was covered in a new article published 24 February 2026 by Jen Panaro of Connect Chadds Ford! Read here.

As of January 6, 2026, Chadds Ford Township Board of Supervisors has not taken action to appoint Painter’s Folly liaisons for 2026. Chadds Ford Township resident Ed Worteck previously served as Painter’s Folly liaison from January 2025 to January 2026. Worteck is a Professor Emeritus of Art and Art History at Goucher College with an expertise in photography and historic preservation documentation with projects associated with the Lancaster Preservation Trust, Franklin Marshall College, and the Rouse Foundation. Following the July 16, 2025 Painter’s Folly public meeting, the Chadds Ford Township Board of Supervisors discontinued communication with Mr. Worteck and denied him access to the interior of Painter’s Folly, preventing him from continuing his photographic documentation of the property. All photographs produced during his tenure were made available to the Township for grant writing, research, and documentation purposes. The Board of Supervisors and Township Manager did not respond to emails sent from Mr. Worteck following the July 16, 2025 public meeting or clarify the reasons for his termination. This development is of concern, as Mr. Worteck was responsible for strategic outreach to potential preservation partners, including Dr. William Coleman of the Wyeth Foundation; coordination with preservation organizations such as the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia; and advocacy for the preservation of the full historic site within Chadds Ford Township and the broader southeastern Pennsylvania region. We urge Chadds Ford Township to appoint a qualified historian, preservationist, or architect to serve as a Painter’s Folly Liaison. The Liaison would provide informed, impartial advocacy for the site and actively engage with potential preservation partners to support its long-term stewardship.

Painter’s Folly was featured as a Place to Save by the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia in the Winter 2026 issue of Extant magazine! Extant, the Preservation Alliance’s quarterly publication produced in collaboration with Hidden City Philadelphia, debuted in Winter 2015 and is distributed free to members and supporters.

Painter's Folly has always defied easy categorization. Built in 1857 by a Quaker farmer with an outsized vision, it became a cradle of American art — the place where Howard Pyle launched the Brandywine School, where a young N.C. Wyeth learned his craft, and where Andrew Wyeth spent two decades retreating to paint and find quiet. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and 91-year-old Helen Sipala — Wyeth's friend and model — still calls its grounds home. Now, Chadds Ford Township is moving toward auctioning the property to a private buyer, and we believe this community deserves more time, more transparency, and a better outcome. Hidden City Philadelphia recently published a thorough and fair-minded account of where things stand — the township's financial concerns, the preservation community's objections, and the difficult questions facing all of us who love this place. We encourage everyone who cares about the future of Painter's Folly to read it in full. Writer Kyle Bagenstose covered Painter's Folly for Hidden City Philadelphia in October 2025. Read here: https://hiddencityphila.org/2025/10/plan-to-auction-historic-home-and-andrew-wyeth-studio-riles-chadds-ford/

Helen Murray Sipala was the longtime owner of Painter's Folly from 1974 to 2018. Helen was a close friend, model, and confidante to the American artist, Andrew Wyeth, and recorded her friendship with Wyeth in a diary, now published as a book. Members of the Painter's Folly Preservation Alliance hired historian Thomas Wood to record Helen's oral history. Wood interviewed Helen Sipala in her home over the course of three sessions. The recordings are held in perpetuity at the University of Kentucky's Louie B. Nunn Center of Oral History. Project Summary: This project is a series of 3 interviews with Helen Sipala. Artist Andrew Wyeth held a significant place in the heart of his neighbors, Helen and George Sipala. They shared in one another's special events and holidays. Helen, who sometimes modeled for Wyeth, became his confidant in painting, family, religion, and many other sensitive subjects. She kept a diary, at his request, of their conversations. The interviews focus on Sipala's early life growing up in the community of Embreeville Psychiatric hospital and her close friendship with Andrew Wyeth. Helen Sipala published her diary about Wyeth: Beyond the Marriage Bed: My Years as Friend, Model, and Confidante of Andrew Wyeth. Further Research: https://www.kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt7vzzjmr7cks

How long did it run: The Artist Studios at Painter's Folly program was an idea born out of both an artist's dream of a local art studio in Chadds Ford and the Patterhn Ives 2022 Preservation Plan, which proposed three potential uses for the building: a bed and breakfast, artist studios, and artist apartments. The Artist Studios at Painter's Folly operated from January 2023 to March 2024. Building Use: The program used three rooms as communal art studios: the Pyle and Wyeth studios on the second floor and the NC Studio on the third floor. A first-floor gallery was also established in the den/library to display and sell work to the public during paid house tours given by former homeowner, Helen Sipala. Model sessions were held in the Pyle Studio biweekly throughout the year, except for July and August, which were taken off for vacation. These sessions were intended to allow professional artists to draw or paint the model in a group, shared setting, which enabled artists to keep costs down for their individual businesses by sharing the model fee. Helen Sipala was one of the models and wore the same outfit she wore for the first time when she sat for Andrew Wyeth. Who Was Involved: Annette Alessi, a master of fine arts, worked as the volunteer artist coordinator. Alessi dreamt of a Chadds Ford group artist studio and shared her idea with Barbara Moore of Barbara Moore Fine Art Gallery. Moore introduced Alessi to Maryann Furlong, who was then the manager of Chadds Ford Township. After approval from the Chadds Ford Township Board of Supervisors, Furlong and Alessi planned the program for 2022, with a scheduled launch in January 2023. Before the program closure, Chadds Ford Township and the Brandywine Museum of Art discussed adding Painter's Folly to the museum tour catalog to interpret its history and increase exposure to artwork on display for future art sales. According to Alessi, the artists enjoyed working together, especially when ideas and opportunities could be shared. In September 2023, the Painter's Folly artists held an exhibition at the Station Gallery in Greenville, DE, featuring the members' works. Pricing: Several studio and scheduling options were available for artists. Each session lasted 3 months, and the building was open Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM. Artists displayed their work in a first-floor gallery, and Chadds Ford Township received a 30% commission on sales. Pyle Studio (2nd floor studio): open to two groups of 6 artists. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for $150 a month Tuesdays and Thursdays for $100 a month Wyeth Studio (2nd floor studio) Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for $150 a month Tuesdays and Thursdays for $100 a month NC Studio (3rd floor studio): $200 a month and open to one artist Studio Rental Income Commission from Art Sales Supply Costs 2023 $7,195.00 2024 $1,450.00 Total $8,645.00 $1,170.00 -$2,856.00 Net Profit: $6,959.00 PHMC Keystone Grant Award: Chadds Ford Township received a 2023 Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) Keystone Grant awarded for the Painter’s Folly Rehabilitation Phase 1 project. The award consisted of a $100,000 matching grant designated for ADA accessibility improvements, within a total project budget of $317,060. The proposed Rehabilitation Phase 1 scope included the construction of a driveway ramp, leveling of existing steps, installation of an ADA-compliant bathroom, and creation of an ADA-accessible first-floor artist studio. Why did it end: After a Painter's Folly studio artist raised concerns about ADA accessibility, ventilation, and unverified mold issues in the home, Chadds Ford Township discontinued the Artist Studios at Painter's Folly program in March 2024. In a 31 July 2025 Painter’s Folly update document, the Township attributed the program’s discontinuation to unresolved ADA accessibility issues and stated that the use of the 2023 PHMC Keystone Grant had been deferred due to the need for “broader repairs” before advancing the studio concept. The Township did not raise matching funds for the project and did not initiate or complete any sub-projects associated with the grant. In October 2025, Chadds Ford Township received an extension on the 2023 Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) Keystone Grant awarded for the Painter’s Folly Rehabilitation Phase 1 project. Per the Keystone Grant requirements, Keystone Grant funds cannot be used for any costs outside the scope of the project for which the grant was awarded. Important Note: Chadds Ford Township experienced significant turnover in the township manager position and underwent another turnover during the artist studio program. All Artist Studios at Painter's Folly marketing activities ceased in December 2023 due to the management turnover. Since the purchase of Painter's Folly in 2018, Chadds Ford Township has had five township managers. Further Reading: https://www.chaddsfordpa.gov/media/5206 https://chaddsfordlive.com/2023/06/brandywine-art-guide-studios-of-painters-folly/ https://www.alessicreations.com/ArticleDetail/11437 https://www.alessicreations.com/blog/189566/the-story-of-how-my-vision-evolved-with-painters-folly-studios https://pa-gov.libguides.com/c.php?g=1306054&p=10398745

Chadds Ford Township is a Class II Township and falls under the Second Class Township Code. The following section of the code, Article XV and Section 1503: Real Property, outlines the options available to Chadds Ford Township should it decide to dispose of the property. Options available under the code: Sealed Bidding Process: must be sold to the highest bidder after due notice Public Auction: must be sold to the highest bidder; the township can set a minimum bid based on the fair market value of the property Sell the property if no bids are received after proper notice Conveyance or lease by the township to the following: A municipal corporation The Federal Government The Commonwealth An institution district A school district A municipality authority A county A public utility A volunteer fire company A nonprofit corporation engaged in community industrial, commercial or affordable housing development A volunteer ambulance service or volunteer rescue squad located within the township A nonprofit corporation organized as a public library A nonprofit medical service corporation A nonprofit organization providing community service or development activities A nonprfit corporation established for the preservation of historical, architectural or aesthetic sites or artifacts A nonprofit association or nonprofit corporation organized to acquire and maintain real property for the preservation, conservation and stewardship of open space A council of government, consortium, cooperative, or other similar entity created pursuant to 53 Pa.C.S. Ch. 23 Subch. A (relating to intergovernmental cooperation The entirety of Second Class Township Code can be found here: https://www.palegis.us/statutes/unconsolidated/law-information/view-statute?txtType=PDF&SessYr=1933&ActNum=0069.&SessInd=0

The National Trust for Historic Preservation defines co-stewardship as the model where historic sites are owned by one organization but operated by another, typically a special-purpose non-profit organization created to serve as the site’s operating entity. Eighteen historic sites in Delaware County are municipally owned but operated by a separate organization, such as a friends group, historical society, or other nonprofit. These historic sites are: Village Green Schoolhouse: owned by Aston Township and operated by the Aston Township Historical Society Pierce-Willits House: owned by Concord Township and operated by the Concord Township Historical Society Polecat Road House: owned by Concord Township and operated by the Concord Township Historical Society Federal School: owned by Haverford Township and operated by the Haverford Township Historical Society Nitre Hall and Lawrence Cabin: owned by Haverford Township and operated by the Haverford Township Historical Society The Grange Estate: owned by Haverford Township and operated by the Friends of the Grange, Inc. Thomas Massey House: owned by Marple Township and operated by the Marple Township Historical Society Minshall House: owned by Media Borough and operated by Media Historical Society Thomas Leiper House: owned by Nether Providence Township and operated by Friends of the Leiper House, Inc. Papermill Road House: owned by Newtown Township and operated by Newtown Township Historical Society Square Tavern: owned by Newtown Township and operated by Newtown Township Historical Society Morton Mortonson House: owned by Norwood Borough and operated by Norwood Historical Society The Willows Mansion: owned by Radnor Township and operated by the Willows Park Preserve Central School: owned by Springfield Township and operated by Springfield Township Historical Society Lazaretto: owned by Tinicum Township and operated by the Lazaretto Preservation Association of Tinicum Township Ogden School: owned by Upper Chichester Township and operated by Chichester Historical Society Collen Brook Farmhouse: owned by Upper Darby Township and operated by Upper Darby Historical Society Lower Swedish Cabin: owned by Upper Darby Township and operated by Friends of Lower Swedish Cabin