|
Allen Ramsay's Peter Manigault
|
Status: |
Missing |
|
Date: |
after 1751 AD |
|
Artist: |
Allen Ramsay (1686-1758) |
|
Origin: |
London, England |
|
Media: |
Oil on canvas |
|
Measurements: |
Unknown |
|
Last Known: |
Sold privately in Charleston, South Carolina, early 20th century. |
What is it?A portrait of Peter Manigault of colonial Charleston, South Carolina.Why is it important?This is a portrait of one of the most important men in Charleston's colonial history by one of the great English portrait painters and its discovery will mean a great deal to the city.Description:Amazingly, a photograph of the painting survives and is shown at right.History:Peter Manigault was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1731, the son of one the city's wealthiest merchants and private bankers. Like most of the children of Charleston society in his time, Manigault went on a European tour as a young man. Manigault traveled, made connections and studied law at the Inner Temple in London during his four-and-a-half year journey.
It was on while on this tour, in 1751, that he had his picture painted in London by prominent portraitist Allen Ramsay. Manigault's portrait says a great deal about what colonial Charlestonians aspired to and achieved materially and socially. They wanted to be seen as being as sophisticated and worldly as any London aristocrat.Clues:The painting was sold privately by descendents of Peter Manigault in the early 20th century. None of the details of this sale are known.Special thanks to:
Maurie McInnis at the University of Virginia
Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC
|
A photograph of the missing painting: Peter Manigault by Allen Ramsay, 1751. Courtesy of Gibbes Museum of Art/Carolina Art Association
The Miles Brewton House, Charleston, South Carolina, former home of Peter Manigault. Links and SourcesMcInnis, Maurie D. The Politics of Taste in Antebellum Charleston. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2005. 5-6 LEARN MORE:About the Miles Brewton House at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History HELP AND GET CREDIT!This entry is incomplete. If you would like expand the entry or offer additional information please contact us. |
