Old College for Women's Garden

Name/Title

"Old College for Women's Garden"

Entry/Object ID

1998.174.1

Description

Watercolor painting of a garden path surrounded by foliage. The painting depicts a gray walkway edged by green hedges delineating the path from trees, bushes, and floral elements. In the center of the walkway is a circular hedge. The painting is framed in a black wooden frame with brown paper backing and rubber bumpers. The bottom center of the painting is labeled in black ink "Old College for Women Garden" and "Cecile A. Berly"

Type of Painting

Easel

Artwork Details

Medium

Watercolor

Subject

Hampton Preston Gardens, circa 1890.

Subject Place

Location

Hampton Preston Mansion

City

Columbia, South Carolina

Context

In 1890, the South Carolina Presbyterian Institute for Young Ladies (later the College for Women) gained ownership of the Hampton-Preston Mansion and its ornate gardens. A major attraction for prospective students, the estate's beautiful grounds remained in the hands of the College for Women until it merged with Greenville's Chicora College in 1915. Chicora College used the property as its campus until it merged with Queens College in Charlotte in 1930. Labeled "Old College for Women Garden," this watercolor was painted by local artist Cecile Adams Berly (1899–1983) from an early twentieth-century postcard of the gardens (see HC.2013.3.3).

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

Cecile A. Berly

Role

Painter

Date made

circa 1923 - circa 1983

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Inscription

Location

Front, bottom

Transcription

"Old College for Women Garden" "Cecile A. Berly"

Material/Technique

Ink

Dimensions

Height

12-3/4 in

Width

16-3/4 in

Relationships

Related Places

Place

Location

Hampton Preston Mansion

City

Columbia, South Carolina