GOING TO THE BATTERY VERNER ETCHING

Elizabeth O'Neill Verner "Going to the Battery", signed lower right "Elizabeth O'Neill Verner", etching on paper, 5-1/8 x 3-3/8 in.; modern frame 8 1/2"x6 1/2". Signed and titled in pencil. One of her early etchings and scarce. PROVENANCE: A Charleston SC Private Estate. Considered the matriarch of the Charleston Renaissance, Elizabeth O'Neill Verner created images of her native city that would, over time, come to be viewed as the quintessential aesthetic definition of Charleston and the South Carolina Lowcountry. The daughter of a rice broker, Verner began drawing as a child. She studied locally with Alice Ravenel Huger Smith before spending two years under Thomas Anshutz's tutelage at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Returning to Charleston in 1903, she married E. Pettigrew Verner and raised two children. During this period, she studied informally, painting scenes of Charleston in her spare time and studying Japanese printing techniques. In 1923, she took up etching. In 1925 established her own studio in Charleston. A founding member of the Charleston Etchers Club, Verner was a respected leader in the city's art community. Along with Alice Smith, Anna Heyward Taylor, and Alfred Hutty, she played a pivotal role in Charleston's dramatic mid-century cultural renewal. Her works showcased Charleston's natural beauty and charm, including: live oaks draped in moss; tall cypress trees in abandoned rice preserves; colorful flower women; and the streets and alleyways of the city, a favorite motif. An extremely articulate artist, Verner taught (William Melton Halsey was a early student), lectured, and authored four books illustrated with her etchings. She also illustrated DuBose Heyward's Porgy and Bess. In recognition of her contribution to the arts, the state of South Carolina named a prestigious annual art award after Verner. Her works are represented in the collections of national institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Smithsonian American Art Museum, as well as leading museums across the Southeast.