Posted on February 11, 2013

University of Maryland Receives Bequest From Local Art Patrons

The University of Maryland has announced a bequest of more than two hundred pieces of art valued at more than $2.2 million from the estate of Sandra Anderson Baccus and her husband, Lloyd T. Baccus.

The artworks, which include paintings, drawings, collages, mixed media, and sculptures, will be added to the permanent collection of the university's David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora. The collection includes works by Charles Alston, Richmond Barthé, Romare Bearden, Radcliffe Bailey, John Biggers, Eldzier Cortor, Aaron Douglas, David C. Driskell, Clementine Hunter, W.H. Johnson, Loïs Mailou Jones, Hayden Palmer, Charles White, and Hale Woodruff, as well as notebooks and portfolios from Benny Andrews, Jacob Lawrence, and Betty Saar.

A longtime art collector, Sandra Baccus and her husband lived in Roswell, Georgia, where they ran a medical business, Correctional Medial Associates, Inc., for more than twenty-five years. From 2004 to 2006, Sandra Baccus served on the Driskell Center's board.

"The center, established in honor of one of America's most accomplished artists and historians, Professor David C. Driskell, is honored to have received this wonderful gift," said Driskell Center interim executive director Curlee R. Holton. "This gift illustrates in full measure the impact that the dedicated collector plays in ensuring the safeguarding of our cultural legacy."