Charles Fraser (August 20, 1782 – October 5, 1860) was an American artist who specialized in portrait painting.
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, but afterwards devoted himself to art. He attended the classical academy of Bishop Robert Smith in Charleston along with Thomas Sully.
Career At various points in his career, he was associated with Washington Allston and John Stevens Cogdell. In 1806, he visited Newport, Rhode Island where he met up with John Trumbull and Gilbert Stuart.
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.Charles Fraser, Address Delivered on the Dedication of Magnolia Cemetery ... (Charleston, Walker & James 1850). See also Alfred L. Brophy, The Road to the Gettysburg Address, Florida State University Law Review 43 (2016): 831, 847-48, 852, 860 (discussing Fraser's dedication address). He also delivered an address on the dedication of a new building on the College of Charleston campus in 1828.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).
In 1830, he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Honorary Academician, and elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1834.American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
Fraser died at Charleston in 1860.
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