About the place:
Taken from the website, "Established in 1993, the Sewell C. Biggs Museum of American Art Museum houses one of the finest collections of American fine and decorative arts.
The Biggs offers changing exhibitions throughout the year relating to historical and contemporary art topics. Intimate galleries offer guests an unexpected and personal experience with the collection. The museum supports the public education of art through educational programming for adults and children and special events designed to bring art to everyone.
Whether it's the first visit to the Biggs Museum or the hundredth, there is always something new to delight, surprise, enlighten, excite, and inspire."
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About the person:
Taken from the website, "The BMAA is the cultural centerpiece of Delaware’s capital city, Dover. It was founded by visionary collector Sewell C. Biggs, a passionate art lover, philanthropist and art collector with a particular interest in the fine and decorative arts of Delaware and the surrounding Mid-Atlantic region. He supported many charitable causes during his lifetime, but his legacy is his art museum – the Biggs Museum of American Art. This legacy allowed him to share his extensive art collection and his knowledge of art with the general public in the dramatic setting of the Delaware State capital grounds.
In 1993, through the intervention and advocacy of Mrs. Elise du Pont, wife of former Governor Pete du Pont, the idea of an art museum to house the Biggs collection took shape. She impressed upon the sitting governor, Michael Castle, the potential of a joint partnership where the State of Delaware might build a building and lease it to a stand-alone 501(c)(3) nonprofit governing board to create a privately operated public art museum. Through her efforts and those of many others, the State agreed to build a building at 406 Federal Street in Dover to house the Biggs collection and a newly created State Visitor Center.
The BMAA exhibited on the upper two floors of the new three story building for 20 years while the State Visitor Center operated on the ground floor. In 2012, the Visitor Center moved to the newly constructed Delaware Public Archives building, and the Biggs Museum was given full control of its entire structure. At that time, the Museum mounted a successful $2,000,000 capital campaign and redesigned and fully renovated the entire facility to make it a state-of-the-art, stand-alone art museum. Finally, the full scope of Biggs’ collection could be displayed, changing exhibitions could be mounted, and educational programs could be presented in a dedicated educational space. For the first time, the BMAA had a fully dedicated museum facility, marked by a dramatic three story entry atrium with a dynamic sculpture on the exterior that announced to the public that this was truly a first class art institution worthy of their curiosity, visitation and patronage.
The BMAA’s collections are recognized throughout the Northeastern United States for their unique nature and their extraordinary quality. The Museum houses one of the finest collections of regional and American fine and decorative arts from the 1700’s to the present; furniture, silver, ceramics, textiles, glass, sculpture, paintings and works on paper comprise a comprehensive art collection. Continuing in Mr. Biggs’ collecting tradition, the Museum’s collections have doubled in size from Mr. Biggs’ original gifts. Special features of the expanded permanent collection include: painting collections by the Peale family, Albert Bierstadt, Gilbert Stuart and Childe Hassam; sculptures by Nancy du Pont Reynolds Cooch, Charles Allmond and Hiram Powers; images by Brandywine School illustrator Frank E. Schoonover; and examples of furniture by early-American cabinetmakers such as the Janvier family of Odessa, William Savery of Philadelphia and dozens of others. In addition, the Museum’s Delaware Silver Study Center holds one of the finest collections of regional silver in the Country. The Museum also presents a full array of contemporary and traveling exhibitions such as the art of Salvador Dali, Ansel Adams, Rembrandt and Audubon as well as invitational and solo exhibitions of contemporary artists. It features a broad range of educational programs and it is proud of its ongoing relationships with Title 1 schools."
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