Lot 959: Alfred Hutty Etching, Bishop’s Gate AKA Col. Thomas Pinckney House, Charleston, 1924

Alfred Heber Hutty (Charleston, South Carolina, 1877-1954) etching and drypoint titled “The Bishop’s Gate.” An African-American woman sweeps a broom outside of a gate that stands before the Colonel Thomas Pinckney House, or Bishop’s House, at 114 Broad Street in Charleston, South Carolina. Signed “Alfred Hutty” in pencil along with snail cypher, lower right. From the edition of 75. Ref.: Sara C. Arnold and Stephen G. Hoffius, editors, The Life and Art of Alfred Hutty: Woodstock to Charleston, The University of South Carolina, 2012, p. 129, No. 27. Housed in a window mat. Sight: 6 3/16 in. H x 7 1/2 in. W. Sheet: 9 1/4 in. H x 11 1/2 in. W. Mat: 16 in. H x 20 in. W. 1924.  Note: Completed by Colonel Thomas Pinckney, Jr. in 1829 and sold to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston in 1866, the structure at 114 Broad Street served as the residence of the Bishop of Charleston. (Source: Preservation Society of Charleston). Biographical Note: “One of the principal artists of the Charleston Renaissance, Alfred Heber Hutty was a native of Grand Haven, Michigan. He spent most of his youth in Kansas City. He was employed as a glazier and that led to his pursuit of stained-glass design, initially in Kansas City, later in St. Louis, and finally in New York City, where he was employed by the Tiffany Studios. He studied with Birge Harrison at the Art Students League and at the nascent art colony in Woodstock, New York, where he was among the first artists to settle full time…He began dividing his time seasonally between homes and studios in Woodstock and Charleston and soon became a fixture in Charleston’s art circles. From 1920 to 1924 he was the director of the Carolina Art Association (now the Gibbes Museum of Art), and in 1921 he was a founding member of the Charleston Etchers’ Club. His principal subject, the local scene, naturally led to an interest in historic preservation. The Society for the Preservation of Old Dwellings, among other groups, provided opportunities for artists–among them, Hutty, Alice Ravenel Huger Smith, and Elizabeth O’Neill Verner–to create work that was deeply rooted in Charleston’s past.” (Source: Morris Museum of Art, “Alfred Hutty: Painter, Printmaker, Preservationist”)

PROVENANCE: Private Southern Collection.

CONDITION: Overall very good condition, mounted with archival corners. Sheet with scattered accretions to upper margin, not visible in sight area, plus minor, even toning especially within sight area and negligible loss to upper right corner. Faint marginal soiling includes fingerprints, likely inherent. Mat with scattered soiling.