Take A Stroll Through the Biggs!

Sewell C. Biggs (1914–2003), a University of Delaware graduate, world traveler and collector of fine and decorative art from the Delaware Valley, founded the Biggs Museum of American Art in 1993. He filled the museum with the pieces he had collected over the years, arranging this significant collection in a timeline that begins in 1700 and extends to the present. In this presentation, Biggs placed the fine and decorative arts of Delaware alongside national examples of American style.

We invite you to stroll through the Biggs Museum of American Art—as well as this online timeline—and in doing so, stroll through the history of the major periods in art in America. You will notice how some particularly popular styles often remained so to Delaware patrons long after nearby trendsetters moved on to the latest fashions. As a result, many style periods tend to overlap on the Biggs Museum timeline.