In celebration of its 40th anniversary, the Brandywine River Museum is displaying the largest amount of art ever on view in its galleries, including nearly every work by Andrew Wyeth the Museum.

  In celebration of its 40th anniversary, the Brandywine River Museum is displaying the largest amount of art ever on view in its galleries, including nearly every work by Andrew Wyeth the Museum.

"When the museum opened in 1971, there were barely 50 works in the collection," said James H. Duff, director of the Museum. "Today, there are nearly 3,800 works. We have taken this opportunity to display hundreds of works of art, by nearly 200 artists."

Special exhibitions on view includeN.C. Wyeth'sTreasure Island, Classic Illustrations for a Classic Tale (through November 20), which marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island with illustrations by N.C. Wyeth--displaying for the first time all 16 dramatic paintings created a century ago. Another exhibition, Honoring Howard Pyle: Major Works from the Collections(through November 17) features vivid paintings and decorative drawings depicting pirates, fairy tales, Arthurian legends, American history and more, revealing as always Pyle as a master of his profession.

During the "Golden Age of Illustration," Pyle was its most prominent teacher, training more than 150 artists.Inspiring Minds: Howard Pyle as Teacher (through November 17) highlights his teaching methods and indelible influence on the careers of many major illustrators such as Jessie Willcox Smith, Thornton Oakley, Frank Schoonover, N.C Wyeth and others.

Masterpieces by Andrew Wyeth from the Collections (through January 29) presents the nearly all of the Museum's superlative collection of works by Andrew Wyeth created during the artist's 75-year career. These demonstrate Wyeth's deep attachment to the land and people of Chadds Ford and coastal Maine. Unique to this exhibition is the addition of selected--and rarely seen--studies lent from the Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Collection. These works in pencil and watercolor demonstrate the artist's close observation of form and his exploration of color and mood.

Celebrating Four Decades of Collecting(through November 20) includes an especially large selection of works from the permanent collection will be displayed in the galleries. Major landscapes by Asher Durand, William Trost Richards and others represent the natural beauty of the region that has attracted artists here for over 150 years. A select group of portrait and genre paintings by Gilbert Stuart, Benjamin West, Horace Pippin, and others are gems of the collection. The museum's fine collection of still life and trompe l'oeil paintings feature wonderful examples by William Michael Harnett, John Peto, John Haberle, as well as works in the trompe l'oeil tradition by contemporary artists such as Robert Jackson, Gary Erbe, and Otto Duecker.

Works by Jamie Wyeth have been displayed in the Brandywine River Museum since it opened in 1971. The permanent collection includes works he created throughout his career in a range of subjects and media. These include his memorable and insightful works such as Portrait of Pig (1970) and Draft Age (1965). Also included are landscapes of Maine and Pennsylvania, as well the artist's important series of drawings and paintings of the dancer Rudolf Nureyev. Works on view by other members of the Wyeth family--Henriette Wyeth, Carolyn Wyeth, Peter Hurd, and John McCoy--reveal each artist's unique interpretation of nature and the people they knew well.

The Brandywine River Museum is located on U.S. Route 1 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The museum is open daily, except Christmas Day, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults; $6 for seniors, students and children ages 6 to 12; and free for children under six and members. Free admission on Sunday mornings from 9:30 a.m. to noon, through November 20, 2011. For more information, please call 610-388-2700 or visit www.brandywinemuseum.org.