William Harrison Scarborough (1812 – 1871) was arguably South Carolina’s most successful Antebellum portrait painter. Between 1836 and 1871, he is known to have created over 600 portraits, including nine South Carolina governors, five United States Senators and uncounted members of the General Assembly.

Significantly greater in volume, although somewhat lesser known, are Scarborough’s prolific portraits of South Carolina’s well-to-do. Lawyers, bankers, doctors and civic leaders whose affluence and influence shaped the state’s history and institutions were immortalized by Scarborough before the widespread replacement of painting with photography.

From 1838 to 1845, Scarborough lived and worked in Darlington District. During those years he created portraits by commission of some of the most prominent individuals in the Pee Dee, from Sumter and Williamsburg to Marion and Cheraw. These early portraits by Scarborough document people at a turning point, after the arrival of the cotton gin and before the coming of the railroads, when Antebellum agriculture was transforming the rural Carolina backcountry into a pillar of prosperity and plantation wealth.

By using a selection of historical artifacts and artworks, some of which have not been exhibited in the 175 years since their creation, this exhibition seeks not only to reflect the rich talent of an important South Carolina artist, but to also capture a rare glimpse into the lives of his subjects in the Pee Dee region, and present a unique portrait of a place in time.

Revisited: The Early Portraiture of William Harrison Scarborough will be on display from August 21, 2018 through February 24, 2019.