Street Shoppers, Charleston, South Carolina

In May and June of 1930, Philadelphian George Biddle traveled to Charleston, South Carolina at the invitation of DuBose Heyward, author of Porgy, and the composer George Gershwin, who was interested in adapting the novel for opera. For two months, the artist sketched genre scenes and figure studies of the people he encountered in the Lowcountry, many of which were later developed into finished studio canvases. Street Shoppers, Charleston, South Carolina, portrays an African American couple out on the town surrounded by material goods in bright window displays. Biddle’s colorful style with loose brushwork and shaky contours mirrors the energy of Catfish Row.