Bannister's art continued to be supported through galleries like the Barnett-Aden Gallery, and following the civil rights movement in the 1960s, his work was again celebrated and widely collected. In collaboration with the Rhode Island School of Design and the Frederick Douglass Institute, the National Museum of African Art held an exhibition titled "Edward Mitchell Bannister, 1828–1901: Providence Artist" in 1973. The Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame inducted Bannister in 1976, and, in 1978, Rhode Island College dedicated its Art Gallery in Bannister's name with the exhibition: "Four From Providence: Alston, Bannister, Jennings & Prophet".