Biggs Museum of American Art

Dover'S Museum Of American Fine And Decorative Art, Founded In 1993 From The Collection Of Sewell C. Biggs, With A Focus On Delaware And The Delaware Valley · Dover, Delaware

The Biggs Museum of American Art stands on Federal Street in downtown Dover, beside Legislative Hall and a short walk from the Green and the Old State House. It opened in 1993 around the collection of Sewell C. Biggs, a Delaware collector who gathered American paintings, furniture and silver with a strong eye for Delaware and the Delaware Valley, and it has grown since through gifts and purchases. The galleries run from colonial and early national decorative arts - case furniture, tall clocks and silver made by regional craftsmen - through 19th-century portraits and landscapes, including Hudson River School paintings, to later American and contemporary work, much of it by artists with Delaware ties. It is a small museum on a few floors, and an hour or two is enough to see it properly. Admission has been free, which makes it an easy addition to a day spent around the capital's historic center, the state museums on the Green or the air base museum. It is not a reason by itself to travel far, but for anyone in Dover it is a calm, well-kept look at regional art and craft.

406 Federal Street, Dover, Delaware, 19901, United States

The museum is open most of the week but is closed early in the week, commonly Sunday and Monday or Monday and Tuesday in recent years; confirm the current days before you plan a Dover day around it, because arriving on a closed day is the most common way to miss it. On open days the galleries keep ordinary daytime hours, roughly mid-morning to late afternoon, and some special events and First Friday-type evenings have run later; confirm current times. Admission has been free, sometimes with a suggested donation; confirm. The museum closes on major holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day, and may close for private events or during exhibition changes, when some galleries are shut. Legislative Hall next door and the Old State House across the Green keep their own schedules, and state offices and downtown lunch places are quieter on weekends. During legislative session days and big downtown events, parking near the museum can be tight; allow time to find a space.

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