Colonial Cup

The Saturday, 21 November 2009 running of the Maion duPont Scott Colonial Cup is quickly approaching. A sporting tradition for 39 years, there is something for everyone: finest steeplechase race horses, Jack Russell Terrier Trials, Paddock Shops, food, fun...a wonderful outdoor experience! For lodging reservations and additional information, call 803.432.5858. Happy Racing.

Allegiance to the USA

James Chesnut, Sr. was central to Mary Boykin Chestnut’s life. While he was her father-in-law, she lived under his roof for many years and had few nice things to say about him in her diary. One of the most interesting comments she made about James Chesnut, Sr. is to be found in a twenty-two page biographical sketch of her husband James Chesnut, Jr. When writing of her husband she uses her father-in-law as a device to show the enormous social and political changes of the last century:

“No man [James Chesnut, Sr.] had a larger stake in the country. He was a rebel from the great nullification party who so longed ruled the state, and he remained a union man until the secession of South Carolina left him no choice.”

“Born a subject of George III he had renounced his allegiance and cast in his lot with the Independent States of America. He had taken the oath to South Carolina---to the Confederate States---and when over ninety years old, blind and despairing there was yet another change. He was asked to take the oath, or to renew his allegiance to the USA. He gave it grimly, saying “surely this must be the last.”

Elisabeth Muhlenfeld, "Mary Boykin Chesnut: A Biography", (Louisiana State Press, Baton Rouge and London, 1981) p. 170.

Maxfield Parrish

His given name was Frederick Parrish; but, he later adopted the maiden name of his paternal grandmother, Maxfield, as his middle name, and later as his professional name. His father was an engraver and landscape artist, and young Parrish's parents encouraged his talent. He lived his entire life at his New Hampshire home/studio at The Oaks.
Launched by a commision to illustrate books, his work includes L. Frank Baum's Mother Goose in Prose in 1897, his repertoire included many prestigious projects including Eugene Field's poems of childhood (including 8 color plates) (1904) (see illustration) and such traditional works as Arabian Nights (including 12 color plates) (1909). Books illustrated by Parrish, in addition to those that include reproductions of Parrish's work - including A Wonder Book and Tanglewood Tales (including 10 color plates) (1910), The Golden Treasury of Songs and Lyrics (including 8 color plates) (1911) and The Knave of Hearts (including 23 color images) (1925) - are highly sought-after collectors items. He had numerous commissions from popular magazines in the 1910s and 1920s including Hearst's, Colliers, and Life. In the 1920s, Parrish turned away from illustration and concentrated on painting for its own sake. Androgynous nudes in fantastical settings were a recurring theme. In 1931, he declared to the Associated Press, "I'm done with girls on rocks", and opted instead to focus on landscapes.

Parrish's art features dazzlingly luminous color; the color Parrish blue was named in acknowledgement. He achieved the results by means of a technique known as glazing where bright layers of oil color separated by varnish are applied alternately over a base rendering. He would build up the depth in his paintings by photographing, enlarging, projecting and tracing half- or full-size objects or figures. Parrish then cut out and placed the images on his canvas, covering them with thick, but clear, layers of glaze. The result is realism of elegiac vivacity. His work achieves a unique three-dimensional appearance, which does not translate well to coffee table books.

"Daybreak", his arguably most famous picture, framed in a 1920's trilogy, along with several others, have just joined the Bloomsbury collection.