"Thomas Jayne is truly one of Winterthur's own, having graduated from the master's program established by Henry Francis du Pont in partnership with the University of Delaware," said J. Thomas Savage, Winterthur’s Director of Museum Affairs. "In its 63 years, the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture has produced many of America's leading curators, academics and museum directors. To that distinguished list may now be added one of America's top scholar decorators. More than any student before or since, Thomas Jayne absorbed far more than the academic curriculum. During his two years at Winterthur, Thomas seems to have channeled H.F. du Pont and absorbed his approach to color, decoration, and room arrangement. To put it simply, Thomas Jayne was learning everything we were not teaching. If H.F. du Pont were with us today, he would be in the front row for Thomas Jayne's lecture and nodding approvingly."

After internships at Historic Deerfield, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Getty Museum, he honed his design philosophy at two of America's most iconic design firms, Parish-Hadley and Associates, and Kevin McNamara, Inc.

"It is an honor and a privilege to serve as honorary co-chair and deliver the keynote lecture at the 2015 Delaware Antiques Show, benefiting one of this country's most important cultural institutions. I see myself as a scholar-decorator much as Henry Francis du Pont, the founder of Winterthur, saw the ideal curator as part decorator, part librarian," said Jayne.

After delivering the keynote lecture at 10 a.m. on Friday, November 6, Jayne will sign copies of his books American Decoration: A Sense of Place and The Finest Rooms in America: Fifty Influential Interiors from the Eighteenth Century to the Present. His internationally acclaimed Jayne Design Studio, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, has received a bevy of top awards including Elle Décor’s A-List (since 2013), Luxe Magazine’s Gold List 2014, New York Spaces Top 50 Designers (since 2009), 2014 Stanford White Award, 2013 Arthur Ross Award/Institute of Classical Architecture and Art, 2014 Pillar Award/Preservation League of New York, among others. In addition to the books he has authored, he writes a blog, Decoration-AncientandModern.com. The studio's work can be seen at www.jaynedesignstudio.com.

The Delaware Antiques Show also will feature an inspiring loan exhibition from the Museum of the American Revolution, which houses an unparalleled collection of artifacts, weaponry, personal items, fine art, printed works, and manuscripts dating to the American Revolution. The loan exhibition will be on view throughout the show and is included in General Admission. It is sponsored by Haverford Quality Investing – The Haverford Trust Company.

Tickets are on sale now for the 52nd Annual Delaware Antiques Show. Tickets are valid for all three days and include special lectures on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as well as the special exhibition. For more information or to purchase tickets online, visit winterthur.org/das or call (800) 448-3883.