Virtual Book Talk- Beyond Blue & White with Genevieve Wheeler Brown

Discover the Untold Story Behind Delftware—And the Women Who Shaped It

Join us virtually on Thursday, September 18 at 6 PM for a special conversation with author and decorative arts advisor Genevieve Wheeler Brown as she introduces her new book, Beyond Blue and White: The Hidden History of Delftware and the Women Behind the Iconic Ceramic (Pegasus Books, releasing August 5).

Broadcast live online from the West Parlor of Van Cortlandt House Museum, Genevieve will share surprising stories of artistry, influence, and women’s labor—set against the backdrop of VCHM’s own historic Delft tile collection.

Don’t miss this opportunity to explore how the museum’s collection connects to a broader, often overlooked legacy.

This book talk is fully online. Registration is required to receive Zoom webinar link. Admission is free. Donations are appreciated.

About the book:

"When over seventy-five pieces of rare and intriguing 17th and 18th century Delftware are rediscovered in a historic Manhattan townhouse, decorative art advisor and writer Genevieve Wheeler Brown quickly recognizes that, together, these pieces tell an amazing story. What begins as a curatorial exercise quickly evolves not only into an exploration of this colorful, expressive, and sometimes even humorous decorative art, coveted for hundreds of years, but also an unexpected uncovering of forceful female lives yet untold. Connecting the accounts of women across centuries, Beyond Blue and White allows us to craft a more complete picture of female experience through the lens of material culture.

We meet female Delftware makers, including Barbara Rotteveel founder of “The Three Bells” Delftware factory in 1671. We are introduced to female Delftware patrons such as Queen Mary II, who found her means of expression while creating a vogue in the 17th century for Delft blue and white across royal courts. And then there are the female collectors beginning in the 19th century who saw the artistry and craft in these ceramics others had overlooked. Foremost among them was Mrs. J. Pierpont Morgan and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt II who came together with fellow New York women and laid the groundwork for women in the museum world while preserving decorative arts with an educational mission.

With illustrations of period objects, documents, maps, paintings, prints and drawings, Beyond Blue and White is a colorful celebration of an iconic decorative art and dynamic women living in extraordinary times. Wheeler-Brown's rich narrative encourages us to see beyond the dazzling cobalt glaze of Delftware to consider that these vessels are also our connection to a history with a fascinating group of women at its center."

About the author:

As a decorative art advisor and writer with over thirty years in the art world, including a decade with Christie’s in New York and London, Genevieve Wheeler Brown has been actively involved in the community of Delftware. She has also participated on the Antiques Roadshow as an appraiser with an eye out for overlooked “treasure.” In her role, she has held innumerable objects, from fake Stradivari violins to gold-mounted Faberge eggs, considering their value but also the stories they can tell.