Tribute to

Sewell C. Biggs

Sewell C. Biggs was born in Middletown, Delaware, November 2, 1914, the son of J. Frank and Emma L. Biggs.  He graduated from Wilmington Friends School, the University of Delaware and the University of Virginia Law School.  He was a member of the Virginia Bar Association.  During World War II he served in the U. S. Army Air Corps.

In 1937, Mr. Biggs embarked on a trip around the world that would have a profound and enduring impact on the remainder of his life.  His fascination with the opportunity of visiting foreign countries, studying their art and architecture and meeting their people eventually translated into an effort to improve international understanding through a people-to-people concept, by sponsoring foreign students for a one-year scholarship at the University of Delaware.  He has also endowed a professorship in American art at the University.

Traveling almost became an obsession with Mr. Biggs, who has visited practically every corner of the world.  In the 1950s while visiting Czechoslovakia, his guide, a young sculpture student, defected from a Russian ship some five years later and found Mr. Biggs a willing sponsor for his becoming an American citizen.  This man now pursues a successful career as a sculptor in New York City.

Mr. Biggs took an active interest in conservation and preservation.  He instigated and chaired the building committee for a major restoration of Old St. Anne's Church in Middletown, Delaware to its original 1768 appearance.

Mr. Biggs has served on the boards of Historical Society of Delaware, The Delaware Art Museum, The Friends of the John Dickinson Mansion, The Wilmington Grand Opera House (during the time of its restoration), The Delaware State Arts Council, The State Building and Grounds Committee, and as a vestry man and warden of St. Anne's Church in Middletown, Delaware.   In 1979 Governor Pierre duPont awarded him "The Order of the First State" in recognition of "meritorious service."  In 1995, the Art Educators of Delaware presented him with their "Certificate of Excellence and Support of Education in the Visual Arts."

In 1989, through the guidance of Elise W. duPont and Senator Nancy Cook an agreement was signed between Mr. Biggs and the State of Delaware with the State providing him with a building in Dover, Delaware to house his collection of Delaware and Delaware Valley Fine and Decorative Arts.

The Biggs Museum of American Art opened to the public in September 1993 and now exhibits approximately 500 works.  The two-volume book, The Sewell C. Biggs Collection: A Catalogue, was published last month and illustrates the paintings, sculpture, furniture, silver and other antique objects Mr. Biggs acquired in over sixty years of collecting.  Tens of thousands of young people and adults have enjoyed and learned from the collection and from the Museum’s special exhibitions and programs.  In November 2002, the Kent County Convention and Visitor Bureau gave Mr. Biggs its annual Tourism Award, which recognized his leadership for the Museum in attracting visitors to the area.  At the time of his death, he was on his way to the antique shows and Americana auctions New York in search of appropriate objects to add to his collection.

Museum trustee John Dunlap said, “He clearly was a man with a wonderful vision and he made it come true. I think he, too, wanted to see the Biggs Museum move forward, get bigger and better, with a larger space so more people can appreciate his marvelous collection.  Hopefully we can make that happen as a tribute to him.  To find individuals in today's American society who are so willing to be supportive of the arts, so willing to spend their own money to bring those arts to communities like Dover, is difficult, to say the least.  Sewell brought all that and more to Dover and to Delaware.”

Mr. Biggs is survived by his brother, Franklin Biggs and by a number of cousins.  The service will be held on January 22 at 11:00 am at Christ Church Christian, in Greenville, Delaware.  In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Biggs Museum, Christ Church, the Historical Society of Delaware, or Preservation Delaware.