About
Author of seven books on history, art, and architecture since 2002, several of them award-winning, as well as two co-authored business books. Lecturer in art history at universities including Johns Hopkins and Princeton between 1997 and 2015; most recently a lecturer in the Department of Art and Archaeology at Princeton. Highly experienced freelance journalist who has written for more than 30 magazines and newspapers since 1999, including the Washington Post and New York Times. Extensive online publication record including Smithsonian, Psychology Today, and LinkedIn. Formerly a contributor to Better Homes and Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg Journal as well as to alumni magazines of Princeton (more than 80 articles including several cover stories), Yale, and Harvard. 70 public lectures since 2001, including popular walking tours of the Princeton campus. My new book is Artists of Wyeth Country: Howard Pyle, N. C. Wyeth, and Andrew Wyeth (due spring 2021).
Featured Work
The Brandywine: An Intimate Portrait
Nestled among picturesque rolling hills, the Brandywine River winds from southeastern Pennsylvania into Delaware. The Brandywine: An Intimate Portrait is the first book to trace the rich vein of history in the region, from original European settlement to the Battle of the Brandywine—the largest land battle of the Revolutionary War—to the establishment of First State National Monument on its banks in 2013.
Acclaimed writer and Brandywine Valley resident W. Barksdale Maynard crafts a sweeping narrative about the men and women who shaped the Brandywine's history and culture. They include the du Ponts, who made their fortunes from gunpowder, and artist Howard Pyle, a native of the region, whose Brandywine School of American illustration took inspiration from the pastoral environment. Most famously, the Brandywine Valley is where N. C. and Andrew Wyeth, father and son, painted amid evocative landscapes for more than a century. With its unparalleled collection of museums and public gardens, including Longwood, Winterthur, and Hagley, the Brandywine continues to attract millions of visitors from around the world.
Richly illustrated with seldom-seen historical photographs, paintings, and drawings, The Brandywine vividly captures the spirit of a storied region that has inspired generations.
