Name/Title
Portrait of Colonel Thomas TaylorEntry/Object ID
2008.14.1Description
Oil on canvas painting of an elderly white man in a half-length portrait. Depicted against a dark backdrop, the figure has brown eyes and stares outward at the viewer. He is balding on the top of his head and has long white hair along the sides. A white cravat is secured around his neck and is tucked against his collared white shirt and black suitcoat. Dripping varnish and previous attempts to conserve the painting disfigure portions of the man's face and surroundings. The painting is secured in a wooden frame.Type of Painting
EaselArtwork Details
Subject Person
Thomas TaylorContext
Commissioned by his son Governor John Taylor (1770–1832), this portrait depicts Colonel Thomas Taylor (1743–1833) in his seventies or early eighties. In 1767, Thomas married Ann Wyche (1749–1834), another member of a prominent Virginian family. Following their marriage, the Taylors forced enslaved laborers to build "The Plains," a plantation that sprawled outwards from the present-day intersection of Barnwell and Richland streets. By 1833, they enslaved over 200 women, men, and children in the Midlands.
As an advocate for American independence, Thomas joined the Second Provincial Congress of South Carolina in 1775 and fought in the Revolutionary War while Ann raised their six eldest children. In 1786, Thomas Taylor sold a portion of his sprawling plantation to the state for the creation of the capital city, earning him the title: “patriarch of Columbia.”
In need of conservation since its acquisition in 2008, this portrait, along with its companion piece, will be added to HC’s Adopt-an-Artifact program, an initiative that offers a tangible opportunity to support the objects in Historic Columbia's care. To donate, please go to: https://www.historiccolumbia.org/adopt-an-artifact.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
James DeVeauxAttribution
Attributed toDate made
circa 1830Dimensions
Dimension Description
frameHeight
36-1/4 inWidth
31-3/8 inDimension Description
canvasHeight
29-1/8 inWidth
24-3/8 in
