Lot 7027
Charles Fraser (American, 1782-1860), Miniature Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Sanford Barker
Lot Details & Additional Photographs
Each portrait 4 x 3 1/4 in.; Each case 4 1/4 x 3 5/8 in.
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Sanford Barker, Charleston, South Carolina
Abigail Barker Ferguson (1810-1867), Charleston, South Carolina
Frances Rogers Ferguson Heyward (1847-1908), Charleston, South Carolina
Jeannie Heyward Cannon (1881-1968), Charleston, South Carolina
Dr. Albert Cannon (1921-2015), Charleston, South Carolina
By descent to Dr. Cannon's grandson and namesake
Exhibited:
Charleston, South Carolina, The Fraser Gallery, February - March 1857, nos. 145 and 146
Literature:
Charles Fraser's Book of Records, Portrait of "Mrs. Baker," p. 6 (noted with the date 20 Nov. 1826)
Smith, Alice Ravenel Huger and D. E. Huger Smith, Charles Fraser, New York: Frederic Fairchild Sherman, 1924, No. IXa and No. IX b, illustrated p. 51
Charles A. Fraser was born in Charleston, South Carolina, where he spent nearly his entire life and became one of the city’s most celebrated cultural figures. Educated at Bishop Robert Smith’s classical academy alongside Thomas Sully, Fraser later moved within Charleston’s vibrant artistic circle that included Washington Allston, John Blake White, and John Stevens Cogdell. Through Allston’s introductions, Fraser met John Trumbull and Gilbert Stuart during a visit to Newport, Rhode Island in 1806. Although trained as a lawyer, he devoted himself fully to art in 1818, establishing a distinguished career as a painter of miniature portraits. His reputation brought national recognition, including honorary membership in the American Academy of the Fine Arts in 1825.
Fraser also earned acclaim as a landscape painter, particularly later in life as declining eyesight led him away from miniature work. Influenced by the dramatic atmospherics of Salvator Rosa and the luminous compositions of Claude Lorrain, his landscapes combined romantic sensibility with a deep reverence for nature. Beyond his artistic achievements, Fraser was admired in Charleston for his literary interests, public speaking, and civic engagement, becoming widely regarded as the city’s beloved artist. In 1857, Charleston honored him with a retrospective exhibition, The Fraser Gallery, celebrating both his celebrated miniatures and evocative landscapes.
Joseph Sanford Barker was born in Newport, Rhode Island, on March 31, 1771. He died in Charleston, South Carolina on November 6, 1842.
Henrietta Catherine Gaillard Barker was born in Charleston, South Carolina on July 22, 1774. She died on August 17, 1858 in Charleston, South Carolina.
Joseph moved to Charleston in 1800 and was a successful merchant. He and Henrietta lived at 20 Society Street in downtown Charleston and raised 14 children. Both are buried St. Philip's Church Cemetery in Charleston.
Some wear and tape residue to cases; overall in good estate condition.
