Stevenson, Sarah Yorke
Sara Yorke Stevenson (1847-1922) was integral in bringing Egyptian archaeology to Philadelphia. In 1889 she helped to found the Archaeological Association of the University of Pennsylvania, an institution which formed the basis for the Museum at the university. From there she was appointed the first curator of Egyptian and Mediterranean antiquities in the university museum in 1890 and sought to broaden American excavation interest in Egypt as a founding member of the American Exploration Society in 1897. On behalf of this organisation, and the University of Pennsylvania Museum, she tried to arrange for excavations and for antiquities starting in 1898.
A subscriber to the EEF, Stevenson wanted to build a collection of excavated material for the museum, and unitl her resignation from the post in 1905, she was an American champion of Petrie's excavations. Following her resignation she became curator at the Pennsylvania Museum, later known as the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This institution recieved BSAE object via Stevenson. These are now on loan to the University of Pennsylvania Museum.
