Elizabeth O'Neill Verner (American, 1883-1979), Charleston Flower Lady

Pastel on silk, signed "Elizabeth O'Neill Verner" at lower right, stapled to a foam core board, framed under glass.

Image size 18 3/4 x 14 in.; Frame dimensions 23 1/2 x 18 1/2 in.

A native of Charleston, South Carolina, Elizabeth O’Neill Verner began her art training under Alice Ravanel Huger Smith, before attending the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia in 1901. She studied there for two years under Thomas Anshutz, then taught art in Aiken, South Carolina before returning to Charleston, where she resumed her studies with Smith.

Elizabeth O’Neill Verner was instrumental in establishing Charleston as a cultural hub of the Southeast. She is best known as an artist – her work is highly prized in the Carolinas – and she also wrote several books about Charleston and hosted visits to her home to help promote the town as a mecca for the Arts. Verner specialized in etchings, watercolors, and pastels, where she captured the charm of everyday life in Charleston.

Damp stain along lower edge of silk, affecting signature; the silk has been removed from its original support and stapled to a later foam core board; some staining to ground above sitter's head; minor smudging.