Name/Title
Portrait of Henry LyonsEntry/Object ID
2015.1.1Description
Oil portrait of a man sitting in a red chair. The background is brown and black. The man has dark hair and mutton chops. He is in a black suit and cravat with a white shirt. The man is also wearing a necklace of on unknown design over the white shirt.Type of Painting
EaselArtwork Details
Medium
Oil on CanvasSubject Person
Henry LyonsContext
Henry Lyons (1805-1858), the eldest son of Isaac Lyons (1774-1843), was a Jewish merchant who arrived in Columbia with his father and brother, Jacob, in the 1820s. He served as a warden in Columbia from 1842 until 1850, when he was elected as the city’s intendent, or mayor, for one year, becoming the second Jewish man to hold this post. Sometime after 1839, Lyons and his wife, Elizabeth Wolff Lyons (1818-1873), purchased the four-acre estate, “Laurel Hill,” previously cultivated by renowned winemaker Nicholas Herbemont (1771-1839). Bounded by Gervais, Lady, Bull, and Pickens streets, its garden featured an astonishing array of local and exotic fruits and nuts that were regularly featured in "The Charleston Courier" newspaper.
This portrait and one of Henry's wife appear to be a matched pair; they may have been painted while Henry was intendant of Columbia from 1850-1851. They are attributed to William Harrison Scarborough (1812-1871) based on the style and Scarborough's prolific output during the 1840s and 1850s. Scarborough is believed to have painted more than 230 portraits during his lifetime, and although he rarely signed his work, available account books include several senators, governors, and mayors, as well as wealthy planters and other members of the Jewish community.
According to Scarborough's account book that includes his commissions from 1852-1859, Elizabeth hired him in October 1858 to complete a “Portrait of late Henry Lyons,” the same month that Henry Lyons died. She also purchased a frame, cord, and tassel. Although research is ongoing, it is believed that the posthumous work of Henry Lyons referenced by Scarborough is a different portrait than this one.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
William Harrison ScarboroughRole
PainterDate made
1858Place
City
Columbia, South Carolina