Wharton Esherick Museum
§ by Joel Hess on December 1st, 2006
The Wharton Esherick Museum is located near Paoli, Pennsylvania which is just outside Philadelphia. It’s open for tours by appointment only. Esherick’s studio is located in the musuem which was also his home for 50 years before his death in 1970.
Esherick’s daughter Ruth Bascom, and her husband Bob currently own the museum and have been the caretakers of the estate for the last 35 years. The Bascoms want to retire and hand over the museum to the nonprofit organization that currently runs the museum.
Described during his life as the “Dean of American Craftsman,” Wharton Esherick’s imaginative, sculptural-style workpieces had a huge influence on American modern art and have been displayed at the Smithonian Institution. His spiral staircase (photo at left) is probably his most famous piece.
Photos by George Widman for GPTMC