Charles Fraser (August 20, 1782 – October 5, 1860), was an American artist best known for his miniatures of prominent American figures.[1]
Early life
Charles Fraser was born at Charleston, South Carolina in 1782. His parents died when he was nine years old and thereafter, he was raised by his older brother, Frederick Fraser. He studied law and practiced until 1818,[1] but afterwards devoted himself to art. He attended the classical academy of Bishop Robert Smith in Charleston along with Thomas Sully.[2]
In 1825, he painted a portrait of Marquis de Lafayette. His talent was very diversified, and in 1857, at an exhibition of his works at Charleston, there were shown 313 miniatures and 139 landscapes and other pieces by him. He was also a frequent orator in Charleston. For instance, he delivered the dedication address at Magnolia Cemetery in 1850.[3] He also delivered an address on the dedication of a new building on the College of Charleston campus in 1828.[4]
^Charles Fraser, An Address Delivered Before the Citizens of Charleston and the Grand Lodge of South Carolina at the Laying of the Corner Stone of a New College Edifice (Jan. 12, 1828); see also Brophy, at 888 (discussing Fraser's interpretation of the broad meaning of the Constitution).
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Bryan, Michael (1886). "FRASER, Charles". In Graves, Robert Edmund (ed.). Bryan's Dictionary of Painters and Engravers (A–K). Vol. I (3rd ed.). London: George Bell & Sons.
