Icon laid to rest with style, spirit, affection

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Flowers donated by Longwood Gardens greet guests at the celebration of Frolic Weymouth's life on Friday, April 30, at the Brandywine River Museum of Art.

To advocates of scenic vistas, he was a beloved benefactor who also possessed a penchant for sending Christmas cards out of season, serving scrapple disguised as an elegant hors d’oeuvre, generating infectious laughter, and living life to the fullest.

An image of George A. 'Frolic' Weymouth's 'The Way Back Home' greets visitors at the Brandywine River Museum of Art.
An image of George A. 'Frolic' Weymouth's painting 'The Way Back' greets visitors on the wall at the Brandywine River Museum of Art.

On Saturday, April 30, George A. "Frolic" Weymouth, a visionary conservationist, peerless philanthropist, acclaimed artist, and accomplished sportsman, was laid to rest. He died on Sunday, April 24, of complications from congestive heart failure at Big Bend, his historic Chadds Ford residence. He would have turned 80 on June 2.

Gathered to bid farewell, invited guests watched as one of Weymouth’s signature four-in-hand carriages carrying a hearse with his ashes pulled up to the chapel at Big Bend for the funeral. The building, constructed in 1995, includes this inscription: “This chapel was built to thank God for a wonderful life filled with fun, humor, work, sport and beauty. A close loving family; loyal and unique friends, and a fabulous son, Mac.”

Virginia A. Logan, the conservancy’s executive director, said the inscription spoke volumes about Weymouth’s values and character, as did the memorial service.

“It was beautiful and very fitting,” said Logan, adding that she believed Weymouth did much of the planning. “He really was prescient,” she said. “He could always see the big picture, and because of that, he was always at the vanguard of getting things done.”

She said Timo Weymouth, Frolic’s cousin and a member of the Orpheus Club of Philadelphia, led three uplifting songs that set an appropriate tone the night before. Thomas Padon, director of the Brandywine Museum of Art, echoed Logan’s sentiments.

Padon said the funeral not only enabled mourners to feel “Frolic’s generosity and kindness,” but it also provided a way to help his loved ones deal with their grief. “It was a beautiful, beautiful service – poetic and meaningful,” said Padon. “You could see so much of Frolic in it.”

A message at Hank's Restaurant in Chadds Ford shares the sentiments of many in the community.
A message at Hank's Restaurant in Chadds Ford shares the sentiments of many in the community.

For just shy of 50 years, Weymouth nurtured the Brandywine Conservancy, which he co-founded in 1967 and served as board chairman until his death. Its holdings grew from its initial preserved tract of 47 acres in Chadds Ford to more than 62,000 in Chester and Delaware counties.

In 1971, one of the conservancy’s purchases, an 1864 gristmill, evolved into the Brandywine River Museum of Art, which is renowned for its collection of Wyeth and American Art. Museum officials interrupted their mourning last week to install a special exhibition in Weymouth’s memory.

The exhibit features nearly 20 Weymouth works, including a portrait of his grandfather, Eugene E. du Pont; his mother, Deo du Pont Weymouth, who was also the subject of a 1964 portrait by Jamie Wyeth; and his longtime companion, Carlton Cropper. A portrait of his sister, Patty Hobbs, was a gift to his parents on their 50th anniversary.

The show, which will run through June 6, was installed in half of the Andrew Wyeth Gallery, marking the first time that paintings by the two artists, who were dear friends, are displayed together, museum officials said.

Logan pointed out that the conservancy’s former executive director, James Duff, worked with Weymouth for more than 40 years, most of them as executive director. “I only got 4 ½,“ she said, “but I still feel so lucky. He had a way of making serious work fun.”

On Friday, April 29, mourners attended what Logan described as a celebration of life followed by a party that likely would have made Weymouth smile. Among the offerings were vintage Frolic specialties: martinis served with three olives and scrapple served with style.

Logan said scrapple was a mainstay of Weymouth’s entertaining. “He took great pleasure in making it look like an elegant hors d’oeuvre” and then getting people’s reaction before and after they learned what it was. “That was part of his charm,” Logan said.

George A. 'Frolic' Weymouth is shown combining his love of art, equestrian pursuits, and lush landscapes. Photo by Susan Gray, courtesy of the Brandywine River Museum of Art
Frolic Weymouth is shown mixing his love of art, equestrian pursuits, and lush landscapes. Photo by susangrayart.com, courtesy of the Brandywine River Museum of Art

John Snook, a senior planner for the conservancy, said the speakers, who included painter Jamie Wyeth, kept the crowd laughing with their colorful reminiscences.

Logan said people flew in from Europe to pay their respects. “We had a luminary-filled guest list,” said Logan. But she stressed that although Weymouth developed close ties with numerous celebrities, including royalty, “he treated everyone he met royally.” The people he valued most were the ones who accomplished what they promised “without self-importance,” she said.

Snook said he experienced Weymouth’s inclusiveness soon after he was hired 31 years ago, but the day he met Weymouth might have initially suggested otherwise.

Snook recalled interviewing with the late Bill Sellers, who headed what was then the Environmental Management Center, and a couple of trustees, who all kept telling him: “Frolic is running late, but he’ll be here soon.”

At the time, Snook said he knew next to nothing about Weymouth, but he got a quick primer when Weymouth finally arrived breathless from the Philadelphia Airport. He had just supervised the loading of all the equipment he would need for a carriage date with Prince Philip in England, including horses, coach and 16 hatboxes.

“I remember being astonished that someone did this,” said Snook. “I would have thought that you’d borrow what you needed once you got there.”

Since that time, Snook said he witnessed countless examples of Weymouth’s generosity, graciousness and sense of fun. “He treated you like royalty even if you were an ordinary middle-class person,” said Snook.

Duff traveled from Maine to attend the celebration and funeral. He called Friday night’s festivities an amazing event that involved about 400 people, all of whom admired Weymouth enormously and spanned several generations.

“Frolic always loved a good party; Frolic was a people person,” Duff said.

A selection of photographs by Jim Graham were displayed at the Brandywine River Museum for Friday night's celebration of Frolic Weymouth.
A selection of photographs by Jim Graham are put on display at the Brandywine River Museum for Friday night's celebration of Frolic Weymouth.

Duff recalled a brainstorming session in the late 1970s that gave birth to the iconic river rat pin, which has been sold for decades in the museum shop. Duff said the conservancy was organizing its first $7 million endowment campaign and wanted an appropriate token of gratitude to distribute to anyone who donated $50,000 or more.

Unfortunately, no one contributed that amount; however, the campaign still met its goal and the river rat became a symbol of the conservancy’s environmental preservation efforts. Duff said both he and Frolic wore them constantly. “If I didn’t have one on, I would have been disgraced,” he joked. “We ended up selling thousands in the [museum] shop.”

Duff noted that without a guest list, thousands would have likely shown up for the party as well as the funeral. “It would have been totally unmanageable,” he said.

A couple thousand did visit the museum over the weekend, said Padon, adding that there will be several upcoming opportunities to experience Weymouth’s lasting legacy.

Padon said guest books would continue to be added as they get filled up so that people can write messages. He said some recurring themes have emerged. “The same words keep popping up: charm, spirit, vision, passion for the arts, community – as in his role in creating a tight community,” said Padon. “Whether it was the trustees here or people at Hank’s [restaurant], Frolic really pulled everyone together.”

Logan said a special tribute to Weymouth would be featured in Catalyst, the conservancy’s magazine. And in addition to the guest books, visitors are welcome to leave notes that the museum will forward to Weymouth’s family.

For those unable to visit the museum, memories and comments can be shared on the museum’s website, and many have availed themselves of that opportunity, remembering an environmental pioneer for his convivial spirit, his myriad kindnesses, and his enduring impact.

Sir Paul Nicholson noted that he met Weymouth in 1966. “Over the years I was to enjoy his wonderful hospitality and sense of humour fortified by his mint juleps but he was much more than just a great coachman,” Nicholson wrote. “Her Majesty's favourite portrait of her husband Prince Philip, painted by Frolic, hangs in a prominent place in Windsor castle.

DJ Pierce, a friend of Weymouth’s son Mac, wrote that “Frolic was indeed the proverbial life of the party – even when that party was for 6-year-olds … I'll never forget how he created a carnival-themed birthday party for Mac, and he did outrageously fun things,” such as making whipped cream pies to be thrown at his face, which peeked through a carnival cutout…

Lawyer William H. Lamb, a former state Supreme Court justice, called Weymouth “a truly remarkable man – a man for all seasons.” He also treasured his outrageously funny Christmas cards, which sometimes arrived in July.

Barbara A. Maletsky, a chef, said she has had the honor of cooking for dignitaries, celebrities, Presidents, governors, even Kings and Queens, “but none of them tickled me like cooking for you.”

As the tributes have rolled in, another repeated theme involved Weymouth’s proclivity for deflecting credit, Padon said. “Whenever someone would thank him, he would always say, ‘I didn’t do anything’” and suggest others had made the achievement possible. “That modesty, that humility was genuine,” Padon said.

Logan said Weymouth’s vision extended to a shrewd succession plan. In September, the conservancy’s board of trustees elected Morris W. Stroud II, a fellow artist with longtime family ties to preservation, as co-chairman. Logan said he and Weymouth spent countless hours together since. “Frolic felt confident that he had his team in place, the ones privileged to carry it [conservancy] forward,” Logan said.

And Weymouth will feature prominently in that progression.

Logan said 2017 would be a festive year that celebrates both the 50th anniversary of the conservancy as well as Andrew Wyeth’s 100th birthday. In addition, a major retrospective of Weymouth’s work is planned for 2018.

The guest curator for the exhibit will be Joseph Rishel, a Weymouth friend renowned for his expertise as the longtime curator of European painting at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. “He’s one of the foremost curators in the world,” said Padon.

Rizzoli, a prestigious New York company, will publish the accompanying book for the exhibition. “As modest as he was, I think he was delighted,” said Logan of plans for the exhibit.

In the meantime, the Weymouth works currently on display offer an insightful preview of what’s to come, she said.

“It’s sad when you lose someone so iconic,” Snook said. But he added that because so many people at the conservancy had worked with Weymouth and understood his vision, his influence would undoubtedly continue.

“The stories will change,” said Snook. “Over time, they will likely become legendary.”

For many who knew Weymouth, they already are.

About CFLive Staff

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