Pre-Raphaelite Powerhouse: The Bancroft Bequest

How did one of the most important collections of British Pre-Raphaelite art outside the United Kingdom come to Wilmington, Delaware? Pre-Raphaelite Powerhouse: The Bancroft Bequest traces the remarkable history of Samuel Bancroft Jr. (1840–1915), a Wilmington textile manufacturer whose encounter with the art of Dante Gabriel Rossetti in 1880 ignited a lifelong passion for the Pre-Raphaelite movement.

Bancroft’s collection began with admiration and quickly became a pursuit. Drawn to the movement’s intense color, literary imagination, symbolic richness, and devotion to “truth to nature,” he assembled an extraordinary group of artworks by Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris, Ford Madox Brown, Elizabeth Siddal, and their circle. More than a collector of beautiful objects, Bancroft sought proximity to the artists themselves, gathering works and archival materials that brought him into contact with the creative networks that shaped Pre-Raphaelitism.

Bringing together masterworks, archival documents, and rarely seen material, Pre-Raphaelite Powerhouse explores how private passion became public legacy. It reveals the Bancroft Bequest not only as a treasure of Victorian art, but as a defining act of cultural stewardship—one that has made Delaware Art Museum an essential destination for the study and enjoyment of the Pre-Raphaelites.

Study for “La Bella Mano”, 1875. Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882). Colored chalks on paper, 39 1/4 × 28 1/2 inches. Delaware Art Museum, Samuel and Mary R. Bancroft Memorial, 1935.

The Prioress’s Tale, 1869–1898. Edward Burne-Jones (1833–1898). Watercolor with gouache on paper laid down on linen, 40 1/2 × 24 1/4 inches. Delaware Art Museum, Samuel and Mary R. Bancroft Memorial, 1935.

Water Willow, 1871. Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882). Oil on canvas, glued onto wood panel, 13 × 10 1/2 inches. Delaware Art Museum, Samuel and Mary R. Bancroft Memorial, 1935.

[Madonna and Child with Angel], c. 1856. Elizabeth Eleanor Siddal (1829–1862). Watercolor, gouache, and metallic paint on paper, 7 3/4 × 6 inches. Delaware Art Museum, Samuel and Mary R. Bancroft Memorial, 1935.

Study for the Head of Nimue in “The Beguiling of Merlin”, c. 1872–1873. Edward Burne-Jones (1833–1898). Watercolor with gouache on paper, mounted on wood, 30 × 20 inches. Delaware Art Museum, Samuel and Mary R. Bancroft Memorial, 1935.

Fanny Cornforth, 1863. William Downey (1829–1915). Photographic print. Delaware Art Museum, Helen Farr Sloan Library and Archives, Samuel and Mary R. Bancroft Pre-Raphaelite Manuscript Collection.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1863. William Downey (1829–1915). Photographic print. Delaware Art Museum, Helen Farr Sloan Library and Archives, Samuel and Mary R. Bancroft Pre-Raphaelite Manuscript Collection.

Manuscript of sonnets “La Bella Mano,” n.d. Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882). Delaware Art Museum, Helen Farr Sloan Library and Archives, Samuel and Mary R. Bancroft Pre-Raphaelite Manuscript Collection.

Illustrated letter from Alfred Darbyshire to Samuel Bancroft, Jr., June 13, 1890. Delaware Art Museum, Helen Farr Sloan Library and Archives, Samuel and Mary R. Bancroft Pre-Raphaelite Manuscript Collection.

Economies Elephantines, 1873. Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882). Ink on paper, 3 7/8 x 3 5/8 inches. Delaware Art Museum, Helen Farr Sloan Library and Archives, Samuel and Mary R. Bancroft Pre-Raphaelite Manuscript Collection.

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Organizers & Sponsors

This organization is supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events on www.DelawareScene.com.