William Aiken Walker (American/South Carolina, 1839-1921), "Cabin at Arden, North Carolina, 1885", exhibited watercolor on paper painting depicting two Black figures in the yard of a small log cabin, with another figure visible just inside the doorway, and mountains in the background under a gray and white cloudy sky. Signed W.A. Walker lower left and dated 1885, with artist''s name and title of work written on the beige mat. Label en verso states the work was exhibited at "The World of William Aiken Walker", the Louisiana State Museum, Dec. 1972-Jan. 1973. Inscribed with title, artist and original owner''s name, Sally Pinckney Burton, en verso, and retaining part of an old Gordon''s Art Shop, Charleston, framing label. Framed under glass in a narrow oak frame. Sight – 9 1/2"H x 6 1/2"W. Frame – 15"H x 11"W.

Note: according to WILLIAM AIKEN WALKER: SOUTHERN GENRE PAINTER by Trovaioli and Toledano, Sally Pinckney Burton, the wife of E. Milby Burton, Charleston Museum director, historian and author, "recalled Walker''s visits to Runnymede, the family estate near Charleston, and their summer home in Arden." (Preface XV)

Artist Biography: Biography: The son of a prominent cotton agent, Charleston-born William Aiken Walker exhibited his first painting at the South Carolina Institute Fair at the age of 12. He went to Europe to study art in 1860 but returned to America during the Civil War, in which he served as a Confederate private and, following an injury, as a cartographer. After the war, Walker became primarily known for his prolific Southern scenes, mostly depicting rural plantations and the daily life of African Americans.

PROVENANCE: By descent in the historic Pinckney family of South Carolina.

CONDITION: Some light toning and minor foxing visible in sky area.