Join Librarian Rachael DiEleuterio and Curator Sophie Lynford for a behind-the-scenes talk about the original Bancroft bequest. In 1935, the heirs of Samuel Bancroft, Jr. bequeathed an enormous Pre-Raphaelite collection to the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts, which became the Delaware Art Museum. The bequest included nearly 400 paintings, drawings, prints, and photographs by Pre-Raphaelite artists, as well as an astonishing amount of rare books, manuscripts, and archival material – over 10,000 items. This talk will take place in the Helen Farr Sloan Library, where Rachael and Sophie will share treasures from Museum and Library’s original Bancroft collection.
Image: Letter from Alfred Darbyshire to his cousin Samuel Bancroft, Jr., dated June 13, 1890, regarding Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Water Willow. Samuel and Mary R. Bancroft Pre-Raphaelite Manuscript Collection, Helen Farr Sloan Library and Archives, Delaware Art Museum.