Bannister and Friends

 Nancy Whipple Grinnell is Curator Emerita at the Newport Art Museum, where she served for 18 years.  She has done extensive research on Edward and Christiana Bannister and their activism in Boston and Providence. Nancy has also lectured on the Bannisters at the Newport Historical Society and other venues. She currently serves as Chair of the Collections Committee and is the archives and collections manager at the Providence Art Club. This essay appears in the catalogue for Bannister and Friends, an exhibition from the collections of Dr. Nicholas P. Bruno and the Providence Art Club, which opened at the Gilbert Stuart Birthplace and Museum.  It explores Bannister's friendships in the Providence arts community.