The Edward Mitchell Bannister Sketchbook

September 5 – December 23, 2023

Artist, critic, activist, philanthropist, and influential leader in the Providence art community, Edward Mitchell Bannister (1828-1901) was one of the few nineteenth-century Black painters to receive significant contemporary recognition for his work and the first Black artist to be awarded a national prize. He was also a founding member of the Providence Art Club.

In 1973, the Athenæum received one of Bannister’s sketchbooks, containing over 80 sketches and studies. Three sketchbook pages still remain in the library’s collection.

Click here to learn more about Bannister and a recent project spearheaded by the Providence Art Club to erect a life-sized statue of him in Providence.