In Magnolia Gardens
Oil on canvas
32 1/8 x 40 1/4 inches
Circa 1945
As published in: Scenic Impressions: Southern Interpretations from the Johnson Collection
As exhibited in: Scenic Impressions: Southern Interpretations from the Johnson Collection, 2015–2018, Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, Tennessee; Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, Georgia; McKissick Museum of Art at the University of South Carolina, Columbia; Telfair Museums, Savannah, Georgia; Knoxville Museum of Art, Tennessee; Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts at Wofford College, Spartanburg, South Carolina
As tourists rediscovered America following World War I, cities like Charleston benefited greatly. The city and area plantations had fallen into disrepair, and Charlestonians explained that they were “too poor to paint, too proud to whitewash.” Tourism spurred urban preservation, while wealthy Northerners acquired ancient rice fields and converted them into hunting preserves.
Soon, tourist hotels were built, azalea festivals promoted, and plantation gardens were opened. Magnolia Gardens was the earliest to welcome visitors, and artists found it to be a special haven. In an interview, Hutty stated: “although I loved the old town greatly, the magnificence of Middleton and Magnolia Gardens completely enthralled me.” This painting is an unusual and somewhat haunting image of a gnarled live oak draped in Spanish moss, which creates a kind of Gothic mood.
Other works by this artist