Name/Title
Portrait of Elizabeth Wolff LyonsEntry/Object ID
2015.1.2Description
Oil portrait of a woman sitting in a red chair. The background is a brown and black. The woman has some portions of her dark hair exposed from under a pink and white lace head covering. She is wearing a black covering draped over a white shirt with lace decals. The woman is also wearing a necklace or brooch over the white shirt.Type of Painting
EaselArtwork Details
Medium
Oil on CanvasSubject Person
Elizabeth LyonsContext
Elizabeth Wolff (1818-1873) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Abraham Wolff (1782-1857), a native of Poland who also owned substantial land in Mobile, Alabama. Elizabeth married Henry Lyons (1805-1858) in 1842; by then, Henry was a well-known merchant in Columbia and had recently been elected warden, a position similar to that of a councilman. In 1843, Elizabeth's sister, Boanna Wolff Levy (1820-1880), also moved to Columbia and soon began teaching at the Columbia Israelite Sunday School on Assembly Street. As Elizabeth and Henry had no children, their estate eventually passed to Boanna and her children.
The Lyons owned a four-acre property, “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. In 1850, Henry was elected as the city’s intendant, or mayor, for one year, becoming the second Jewish man to hold this post.
This portrait and that of Elizabeth's husband appear to be a matched pair; they may have been painted while Henry Lyons 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 covers his commissions from 1852-1859, Elizabeth hired him in late 1858 to paint Henry Lyons a final time following his death in October of that year.Made/Created
Artist
William Harrison ScarboroughDate made
circa 1840 - circa 1850Place
City
Columbia, South CarolinaDimensions
Dimension Description
Dimensions of FrameHeight
34 inWidth
29 in