Painted Storage Box
INSCRIPTION: Marks on bottom read “Fraser/ King Street”
It is among a large group of related objects in the MESDA collection with Fraser family histories. These include a Chippendale-style chest of drawers (Acc. 2787) with a fitted upper drawer, an easy chair (Acc. 2788.2), a candlestand (Acc. 2788.1), a stilllife painting by Charles Fraser (Acc. 5470), and a miniature by Fraser for his niece Sophia Fraser (Acc. 5509).
Fraser demonstrated his artistic aptitude at an early age; extant sketchbooks date as early as 1796, when Fraser was only fourteen. He was painting by 1800, and throughout his legal career he continued to paint. He established lifelong friendships with artists such as Thomas Sully, Edward Greene Malbone, and Washington Allston. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Fraser was not an itinerant artist, though he did make five trips to the northern states, visiting other artists in route. He worked to promote public art exhibitions and collections in Charleston and was a director of the South Carolina Academy of Fine Arts until its closure circa 1832.
During his lifetime his works were displayed in such cities as Philadelphia and New York. His most important exhibit was the 1857 “Fraser Gallery,” which was organized in his honor by a group of prominent citizens in Charleston. Over three hundred of his works were loaned for this exhibit. “He painted over four hundred miniature portraits that chronicle the society of Charleston (and beyond) in the pre-Civil War nineteenth century. Although he received less support for landscape, genre, history, and still life paintings and sketches, Fraser is now recognized for his accomplishments in these areas as well.” (Robert Hicklin Appraisal Notes)
Fraser was also known in the literary circles of Charleston for his poetry and, according to his will amassed a fairly large art collection. “Fraser was esteemed and celebrated as an artist, author, and civic leader during his lifetime. A distinguished orator and author, his speeches, essays, and poetry were published in local newspapers, literary journals, and anthologies. His book, Reminiscences of Charleston (1854), is valued for its historical scope and accuracy, as well as the artist’s personal recollections of a rich and critical period in American history.” (Robert M. Hicklin Appraisal Notes)