Painters and Paintings of the Early American South

Ok, so its back to exploring the world of museum exhibits. And I have to say that I have been very excited for the last few months for this one.

I have been waiting for the Painters and Paintings in the Early American South at Colonial Williamsburg's DeWitt Wallace Museum to open since last November when I got a sneak peak at some of the pieces in the exhibit. On a tour of the Colonial Williamsburg Conservation Labs during the Southeastern Museum Conference, the tour group I was on was able to get an up close look at some of the paintings that were being prepared for the exhibit. 

The conservationist walked us through the process of how she was restoring these paintings to their original color (often removing years of bad restoration attempts). As I learned more about the process involved with reading these paintings for exhibition, the more excited I was to see the final product. 

I have since been to the Painters and Paintings exhibit twice now. Once on one of the first beautiful spring days in late March to simply take the exhibit in and the other on a cold, slightly overcast day in late April to focus on the specifics of the exhibit. Although I had two different experiences, each time I was thoroughly taken in by the exhibit. 

When you enter the first room of the exhibit, you come face to face with the 18th century Southern elite. The exhibit is housed in two rooms of the museum and is made up of mainly portraits of wealthy Virginians.  Walking into the room, you are greeted by a T.V. screen that plays a slide show of images from the exhibit and includes interesting snippets of information about southern painting traditions in the 18th century in the upper class. The slide show even includes images from advertisements from the Virginia Gazette offering artists survives to the First Families of Virginia (FFVs). 

The first room seems to focus more on the FFVs prior to the American Revolution, while the second room has a greater focus on the American Revolution and life in the latter half of the 18th century. I would have liked, however, to see more label text explaining the differences between the two rooms.

 Here are some of my favorite images from the exhibit: 

This is one of the paintings that was undergoing conservation last November. It is amazing what can be done in the lab to restore a painting to its original colors. This painting had been exposed to smoke, dirt, grim, and poor restoration attempts in the past, but CW's conservationist was able to reveal the light colors and details through her painstaking work. The only problem I had with this portrait and some of the other large ones in the first room was that the lights didn't seem to be focused on the portrait for my height, so I had to look at this portrait and a few others from an odd angle to see view it without a glare. 

Elizabeth Burwell Neslos

(Mrs. William Nelson, 1711-1798)

Painted by Robert Feke

Yorktown, Virginia, 1749-1751

Oil on Canvas

This portrait caught my eye because of the detail of Lucy Gilliam's clothing. The accessories are so well captures in this image that it provides an excellent study of the fashion of the late 18th century. 

Lucy Skelton Gilliam

(Mrs. Robert Gilliam, 1743-1789)

Painted by John Durand

Petersburg area, Virginia 1780

Oil on Canvas

And of course, no exhibit about elite Southerns would be complete without a few portraits of our first commander and chief. These are truly remarkable portraits by Charles Wilson Peale, both in size and in detail. The first one, depicting Washington during the French and Indian War, is so detailed that it even includes Washington's "Orders of March" in his pocket. 

George Washington (1732-1799)

Painted by Charles Wilson Peale

Fairfax Country, Virginia, dated 1772

Oil on Canvas

George Washington (1732-1799)

Painted by Charles Wilson Peale

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dated 1780

Ol on Linen Ticking

This is the main image for the exhibit. While the portrait is remarkably beautiful, I am not entirely sure why this image was chosen for the main exhibit image. There are so many wonderful portraits in the show to chose from, it seems a bit dark for the main image. 

Charlotte Pepper Gignilliat

(Mrs. James Gignilliat, 1748-1803)

Painted by Henry Benbridge

Charlestown, South Caroline, ca. 1775

Oil on Canvas

This was the only image in the entire exhibit depicting the lives of enslaved Africans. In an exhibit that focused on the Southern elites in the 18th century, I was impressed that this image was included in the exhibit. It may not seem like much, but simply having an image depicting the lives of the enslaved reminds the museum visitor that the wealth of the Southerns depicted in the many portraits throughout was built on the work of others. 

The Old Plantation

Painted by John Rose

Beaufort, South Carolina, probably 1785-1790

Watercolor and ink on laid paper

Overall, the Painters and Paintings of the Early American South is a beautiful exhibit that has been extremely popular since it opened. Although occasionally some of the eyes do seem to follow you around the exhibit hall :)

I want to thank the DeWitt Wallace Museum and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation for their aid with the blog post. As photographs are not allowed in this exhibit, Colonial Williamsburg was kind enough to allow me access to the exhibit's press package.