Waking Dreams

Waking Dreams The Art of the Pre-Raphaelites from the Delaware Art Museum

April 23 – July 2

In 1848 a group of seven young artists and writers gathered together in mutual support of new directions in contemporary art. It was a move away from the established London art institutions of the day. The group consisted of artists Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, James Collinson and Thomas Woolner, and writers William Michael Rossetti (brother of Dante Gabriel) and Frederick George Stephens. Looking back to art created before the time of Renaissance artist Raphael, their primary aim was to paint directly from nature in an honest manner that rejected the painterly brushwork and contrived compositions currently in vogue at the Royal Academy.

The bright jewel-like colors and close attention to detail, typical of early Italian art, featured prominently in the Pre-Raphaelites’ work. They chose themes from mythology, history, Arthurian legends, Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare and biblical stories. For symbolism, sentiment and narrative, they turned to the English Romantic poets, Byron, Keats and Tennyson. In addition, the Brotherhood were very much concerned with the “modern” world in which they lived and the social problems brought about by the Industrial Revolution and ensuing rapid growth of cities. Often their subjects reflect this, with particular passion shown for the “fallen woman” or prostitute. Exotic places — especially “The Orient” — inspired luxurious interiors and richly ornamented subjects.

The young painters were supported in their endeavors by the eminent art critic John Ruskin, who staunchly defended their endeavors in two benchmark letters published in the London Times. Although the official Brotherhood lasted only a few years, their work and objectives influenced a second wave of painters and artisans including Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris, who continued through the early 20th century.

The Delaware Art Museum’s collection of Pre-Raphaelite art was donated by the heirs of Samuel Bancroft, Jr. (1840-1915), a successful textile manufacturer and patron of the arts. As the only collector of Pre-Raphaelite art in America at the turn of the century, Bancroft’s enthusiasm for the movement was unique for its time and place. He purchased his first work of British art, Rossetti’s Water Willow in 1890 and added to his collection throughout the decade.

Bancroft’s collection was exhibited in New York and Philadelphia, but usually hung in his Wilmington home. It was kept intact by his family after his death in 1915. They gave the collection to the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts (the predecessor of the Delaware Art Museum) in 1935 as the Samuel and Mary R. Bancroft Memorial. Since then, the Museum has augmented the collection with purchases, gifts and bequests, making it the premiere Pre-Raphaelite collection in the United States. A number of the works on view have not been seen outside of Wilmington since their acquisition at the turn of the twentieth century. The 130 pieces included in the exhibition illustrate a stunning, luxuriant art borne of the same rebellious spirit that initiated Impressionism and Modern art. A fully illustrated color catalogue, edited and written by Exhibition Curator Stephen Wildman and a team of scholars in Britain and America, accompanies the exhibition.

This exhibition is organized and circulated by Art Services International, Alexandria, VA.