Museums
Biggs Museum of American Art is a privately owned, non-profit institution showcasing a large collection of historic Delaware Valley and other American art and artifacts. In its chronologically ordered 14 galleries, are arranged the collection of Sewell C. Biggs - a native of Middletown – gathered over a period of 60 years. The museum’s collection features exhibits as old as 200 years, which clearly depict the evolution of American art from colonial portraiture to impressionism to 20th-century traditional realism. It showcases paintings by regional artists and masters of American art such as Gilbert Stuart, Charles Willson Peale, George Inness, and William Merritt Chase. There is a separate gallery for water colors and another one dedicated to Wilmington illustrator Frank Schoonover. Biggs Museum also has a stunning array of 18th- and early 19th-century furniture and silverware. On display are works from Delaware cabinet and woodworking shops; grandfather clocks and historic pieces that descended through the families of noted eighteenth-century Delawareans. Guided and group tours are available in the museum. The exhibits are accessible to students for study and research. The Biggs Museum is located at 406 Federal Street, in the same building which houses the Delaware State Visitor Center.
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