Name/Title
Portrait of Wade Hampton IIEntry/Object ID
1972.101.1Description
Bust portrait of male with dark hair and eyes seated in chair. His right arm rests on the chair's top rail. The subject is wearing a formal black suit with gold buttons and ruffled white shirt. The background is painted various shades of deep green and brown.Type of Painting
EaselArtwork Details
Medium
Oil on CanvasSubject Person
Wade Hampton IIContext
Wade Hampton II (1791–1858) was one of two children born to General Wade Hampton I (1752–1835) and Harriet Flud (d. 1794). After Harriet's death, Wade I married Mary Cantey (1779–1863), with whom he had six children who survived to adulthood, leading Wade II to share several half-siblings with his brother, Francis "Frank" Hampton (1793–1816).
While considered academically gift, Wade II left South Carolina College to become a second lieutenant in the First Light Dragoons during the War of 1812. After the war, he assisted his father in managing two plantations in Columbia: Woodlands and Millwood. He lived at Millwood with his wife, Ann Fitzsimmons (1794–1833), and their eight children, including Wade Hampton III (1818–1902). Hampton was a prominent horse breeder and racer, keeping most of his horses at Millwood, where he also displayed numerous trophies and portraits of his horses.
Hampton enslaved over 330 people who he forced to work on his properties and plantations in South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, and Texas. His wealth and family connections enabled him to serve two terms in the South Carolina Senate and invest in the growing railroad system. Despite his success, his sudden death in Mississippi left his children inheriting substantial debt.
This portrait is attributed to the artist Charles Willson Peale (1741–1827). Peale was an American patriot known for painting figures central to the American Revolution. His interest in natural history led him to establish the Philadelphia Museum, later known as Peale's American Museum, which displayed a variety of specimens from the natural world.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Charles Willson PealeAttribution
Attributed toDate made
1815 - 1825Dimensions
Height
35-1/4 inWidth
30 in
