December 10-13, 2024 Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/10/2024
Miniature on ivory, 2 1/8 X 1 3/8 in., under eglomise mat within original, carved wooden frame; signed "White / 1834" in lower RH corner. The artist was the son of Charleston artist and engraver John Blake White and friend of noted miniaturist Charles Fraser. Appointed to the US Military Academy at West Point in 1822, he also benefited from further artistic instruction by Thomas Gimbrede, Professor of Drawing. Graduating 9th in his class and commissioned as an artillery officer, he spent much of his military career serving as an acting engineer, supervising the construction of Fort Pulaski and the Potomac Bridge, before resigning his commission in 1836. The sitter wears the undress frock uniform first authorized in 1828 and his features closely resemble those of Captain Benjamin Huger of the Ordnance Department from a miniature by Frasier. Huger and White served together during this period and both were native Charlestonians. White subsequently enjoyed a successful career as a civil engineer and architect in South Carolina, his accomplishments ranging from railroads and public buildings (such as the Charleston Custom House) to many of the stately homes that still grace South of Broad today. During the Civil War, he organized and commanded the famous Palmetto Light Artillery and later signalized himself in the defense of Charleston. This is one of only two portrait miniatures by White currently known. CONDITION: the watercolor retains good coloring, but there are some tiny losses in the lower portion of the inner sleeves, the ivory with some warpage.