A graduate in 1811 of Harvard University, Gilman attended the divinity school as well. For the celebration of his alma mater's centennial in 1836 he authored Fair Harvard. He served as rector of the Unitarian Church, Charleston from 1819 until 1858, during which time the interior of the church was dramatically remodeled in the Gothic revival style. He was one of the primary organizers of the retrospective exhibition of Fraser in 1857, and he wrote one of the biographical sketches in the Fraser Gallery. The miniature is unusual in its relaxed pose and soft, slightly fuzzy colors. One explanation is that it may be a copy after a daguerreotype. The features, especially the eyes, are very sympathetic looking.
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