Archival Collections

The collections in the Helen Farr Sloan Library & Archives focus on three major collecting areas, each complementary to the strengths of the Museum’s permanent art collection. These collections, in conjunction with the book and Museum art collections, contribute to a unique research opportunity at the Delaware Art Museum.

SAMUEL AND MARY R. BANCROFT PRE-RAPHAELITE MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION

Samuel Bancroft, Jr. (1840–1915) was a prominent Wilmington textile manufacturer who amassed one of the most important collections of Pre-Raphaelite art in America, with special emphasis on the works of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The manuscript collection includes correspondence and transaction records relating to his art collection, photographs, exhibition catalogs, handwritten manuscripts and the personal letters of some of the Pre-Raphaelites and their associates.

Finding Aid

HOWARD PYLE MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION

Howard Pyle (1853–1911) was one of the most influential American illustrators of all time. His unique style, impressive body of work and the school for artists he operated out of his studio in Wilmington, Delaware, ushered in the golden age of American illustration and influenced generations of to come. The manuscript collection includes Pyle’s correspondence, lectures, photographs and newspaper clippings, as well as scrapbooks of his book and magazine illustrations, and records of exhibitions held at the Museum.

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JOHN SLOAN MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION

John Sloan (1871–1951) was one of the most important American painters and printmakers of the first half of the 20th century. As a member of “The Eight,” Sloan became known for his gritty images of working-class life in New York City. This urban subject matter would earn him and his colleagues the moniker of “the Ashcan School.” The manuscript collection includes correspondence with artists and friends, personal and family papers, financial and legal records, organizational matter, photographs and other printed matter about Sloan and related artists.

Finding Aid

ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS AT THE DELAWARE ART MUSEUM