High Life in the Low Country: Fine and Decorative Arts of Charleston

On Monday, June 7, 2021, 1:00 pm-3:00 pm, The Greenwich Decorative Arts Society presents a lecture High Life in the Low Country: Fine and Decorative Arts of Charleston by Thomas Savage, Director of Museum Affairs, Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library.

In 1773 visiting Bostonian Josiah Quincy wrote of Charleston, “In grandeur, splendor of buildings, decorations, equipages, numbers, commerce, shipping, and indeed in almost everything it far surpasses all I ever saw or ever expected to see in America.” Quincy was witness to Charleston’s “Golden Age”, the eve of revolution when the constant arrival of foreign artisans and imported consumer goods made the South Carolina low country the most fashion conscious society in colonial America. This lecture will examine the fine and decorative arts produced at home and abroad that contributed to Charleston’s unique character.