The holidays will arrive early to the Brandywine Museum of Art this season with the return of the Brandywine Railroad holiday train display, plus a new exhibition that will highlight the miniature worlds created and loved by the Wyeth family of artists—including two additional model train displays that will delight visitors of all ages. Both exhibitions will be on view daily beginning November 16 through January 5, 2025. The museum’s atrium will also be decked out with towering trees adorned with Brandywine’s signature, handmade “Critter” ornaments, and a variety of holiday events and programs for the whole family will be offered throughout the season. 

Since its debut in 1972, the Brandywine Railroad’s iconic O-gauge model train display has captivated generations of Museum visitors. The expansive display features trains running on 2,000 feet of track and includes more than 1,000 pieces, such as locomotives, passenger and freight trains, and trolleys that pass through a small village, a farm, factories, a drive-in movie theater and even a carnival. A dazzling array of both toy and scale model trains can be seen chugging through the varied scenery, including those made by Lionel, Williams, Atlas, Mike’s Train House, K-line and others. Interactive components are incorporated throughout the display, operated by buttons and foot pedals that allow for further visitor engagement. 

Adding to the trove of tiny treasures on view, a new exhibition, titled The Wonderful World of Wyeth Miniatures, will feature dollhouses and model trains that were previously owned by members of the famously creative Wyeth family, which they lovingly outfitted with handcrafted tiny furnishings, paintings, and unique details. 

On view in Brandywine’s Strawbridge Family Gallery, this exhibition includes two model train displays that belonged to artist Jamie Wyeth and Nicholas Wyeth, both sons of the renowned American artist Andrew Wyeth. Nicholas Wyeth’s 8x12 foot standard gauge train display features historic “tinplate” Lionel trains from the 1920s and 1930s traveling around colorful buildings and scenery, including a grand bridge modeled after New York’s iconic Hellgate Bridge and a grouping of military miniatures collected by his father, Andrew. Jamie Wyeth’s 4x6 foot N-gauge train display—one of the smallest model trains and originally co-owned by Wyeth and his friend and fellow toy collector, artist Andy Warhol—features personalized details by both artists, including a miniature figurine modeled after Wyeth’s famous Pumpkinhead self-portrait. 

Wyeth Miniatures will also include one of the rooms from a captivating nine-foot-tall dollhouse previously owned by Ann Wyeth McCoy—the talented composer, pianist, and daughter of N.C. and Carolyn Bockius Wyeth—which was built by her husband, the artist John McCoy. Outfitted by her family with several handmade furnishings, the dollhouse room is decorated with miniature paintings by her sister and brother-in-law Henriette Wyeth and Peter Hurd, as well as by her brother Andrew Wyeth. One of Jamie Wyeth’s tiny paintings designed for the dollhouse will be displayed for the first time in years, and several miniature furniture creations by Nathaniel Wyeth, Anne's mechanical engineer brother, will also be on view. 

Adding to the holiday festivities, the Brandywine’s annual Holiday Critter Sale will return in person to the museum this year from Nov. 21–24, with a member preview sale on Nov. 20. Each year since 1971, these distinctive ornaments have been carefully handcrafted by a dedicated group of Brandywine volunteers using only natural materials such as teasel, pinecones, acorns, eggshells, flowers and seed pods. Thousands of “classic Critter” favorites and fanciful new creations will be available for purchase during the annual sale, including a new limited-edition series of Critters inspired by Philadelphia’s favorite sports teams. This year’s sale will be held in person in the Museum’s new Waterview Room on the second floor. Beginning Nov. 25, the remaining inventory of Critters will be available for purchase in the Museum Shop. All proceeds benefit the Museum’s Art Education & Public Programming. A smaller selection of Critter ornaments is also available for purchase online and can be shipped across the country by visiting www.brandywine.org/critters.

Beginning Nov. 16 through January 5, 2024, the museum will be open seven days a week throughout the holiday season. For specific information about hours and special holiday events, visit www.brandywine.org.

Support for the Brandywine Railroad is provided by The Davenport Family Foundation Fund for Exhibitions, JPMorganChase, and Herr Foods.