Early History of Art and Artists in South Carolina
South Carolina has been home to an array of noteworthy individuals and styles in the literary, visual, and performing arts. What follows is a brief overview of the arts in South Carolina from the time of its earliest settlers through the end of the 1700’s. Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues was one of the earliest artists to visit the Southeastern coastal areas of the New World back in the 1500’s. He made watercolors of coastal settlements following a 1564 expedition to the region. These were then converted by Theodor deBry into engravings that were widely circulated back in Europe. Mark Catesby was an English naturalist who studied flora and fauna in the New World between 1729 and 1747. He undertook a plant-collecting expedition to Carolina on behalf of the Royal Society in 1722. Based in Charleston, South Carolina, he traveled to various parts of the colony collecting plants and animals and ultimately published his Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Baha