Edward M. Bannister and Friends

African American painter Edward M. Bannister (1826-1901) achieved great artistic success during his career in Rhode Island. Arriving in 1869, Bannister went on to co-found the Providence Art Club, gather numerous patrons, win a first prize award at the Philadelphia Centennial in 1876 and leave a legacy of gentle landscapes often embellished with coastal views. During his journey, Bannister was supported by a coterie of friends as well as his wife, Rhode Island native and businesswoman Christiana Carteaux Bannister. This lecture will explore Bannister and his relationships with his wife, his fellow painters such as George Whitaker, and his friend George T. Downing of Newport. The Gilbert Stuart Museum will feature an exhibition, “Bannister and Friends,” curated by Grinnell in the summer of 2026.

Nancy Whipple Grinnell is curator emerita of the Newport Art Museum, where she served for 18 years. She oversaw all curatorial affairs, developed numerous museum catalogs and wrote a biography of the Museum’s founder titled, “Carrying the Torch: Maud Howe Elliott and the American Renaissance.” Nancy currently chairs the collections committee at the Providence Art Club, where she has co-curated an exhibition on historical women artists of Providence. She has organized exhibitions for the Gilbert Stuart Museum on Edward M. Bannister, George Whitaker and Mabel Woodward and produced a catalog on Matunuck’s Hale family artists. Nancy holds a degree in art history from the University of Pittsburgh, an M.L.S. from Simmons College and an M.A. in American civilization from Brown University.