The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (P.R.B.) was the name chosen by seven young men who gathered together in London in 1848, united by a shared distrust for the Royal Academy, the sanctioned art institution of the day. They disagreed with the style of loose or "painterly" brushwork that was taught at the Royal Academy schools and which found favor with the juries at their annual exhibitions. The Pre-Raphaelites took as inspiration for their paintings subjects drawn primarily from literature, including the Bible, Shakespeare, and the poets of their own age, such as Alfred, Lord Tennyson (Lancelot and Guinevere) and John Keats (Isabella and the Pot of Basil).
Occasionally, the Pre-Raphaelites' works reflected the concerns raised by the changes experienced during the age of the Industrial Revolution in which they lived. In some cases, they painted scenes of modern life with a moral message, as in Rossetti's Found, showing a young country woman who has fallen into prostitution, being unable to find suitable work in the city. In other cases, these concerns were reflected in scenes of fantasy and escape, such as Edward Burne-Jones' The Council Chamber, inspired by the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty.
"The Victorian period during which the Pre-Raphaelites worked bears so many similarities to our own time, including rapid advances in technology, significant changes in the world political map, and uncommon growth and movement of populations," said Margaretta Frederick, Curator of the Bancrot Collection of Pre-Raphaelite Art. "I am continually amazed and inspired by the lives and works of these painters, which offer fresh perspectives on the present."
The Pre-Raphaelites were particularly attracted to a type of feminine beauty, characterized by strong facial features and brilliant red hair. They often found their models—whom they called "stunners" — while walking the streets of London. In later works from the 1870s, an area in which the Museum's collection is quite strong, women become the central subject. Rossetti's images from this period are dreamy, sensual, and provocative.
As the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood gradually dispersed, new inspiration appeared when William Morris and Rossetti became close friends. In 1861, Morris founded the firm that would become Morris and Company, designing hand-crafted household objects. Morris and his Pre-Raphaelite associates deeply believed that beautiful objects would improve individual lives adversely affected by the harsh industrial world. The Museum's collection features a wide range of Arts and Crafts objects including furniture, glass, metalwork, pottery, and jewelry.
In 1935, the family of Samuel Bancroft, Jr. (1840-1915), a Wilmington textile mill owner, bequeathed his Pre-Raphaelite collection to the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts, an early incarnation of the Delaware Art Museum. The Bancroft Collection of Pre-Raphaelite Art consists of over 150 works, including paintings, drawings, photographs, decorative arts, and illustrated books. The Museum collaborated with Trellist, Inc., of Wilmington, Delaware, to launch a website devoted to the Bancroft Collection.
Reinstallation of the Bancroft Collection of Pre-Raphaelite Art is sponsored by DuPont, with additional support provided by the The Getty Foundation, a program of The J. Paul Getty Trust in Los Angeles. The following have generously donated products or services to the reinstallation: Calico Corners, John Alexander Ltd., Material Culture / Woven Legends, Morris & Co. through Sanderson & Sons, and Trellist, Inc.
The Gala and Homecoming Party are supported, in part, by Sotheby's MasterCard®, Sodexho, Bouchaine Vineyards, and Corporation Service Company. The News Journal is the Media Sponsor. The Return of the Pre-Raphaelites is made possible, in part, by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency committed to promoting and supporting the arts in Delaware. -- www.delart.org
