Judge Robert Budd Gilchrist

Artist: Fraser, Charles
Date: 1841

A graduate of South Carolina College, Gilchrist studied law in the office of Keating Simons, and later practiced as a partner of John S. Cogdell, his brother-in-law. Between 1831 and 1839 he served as district attorney for South Carolina and then became a judge for seventeen years in the district court of South Carolina. Appropriate to Gilchrist's position as a judge, Fraser has depicted him with books. The column—which Fraser had used in his Self-Portrait of 1823—recurs most frequently in portraits of distinguished lawyers and may be Fraser's way of paying respect to his former profession. Like other portraits of the 1840s, there is a sense of remoteness, derived in part from the fact that the sitter is placed back, away from the frontal picture plane. The account book records for 1841 "Judge Gilchrist . . . $45."

Notes:

This text is adapted from Martha Severens "The Miniature Portrait Collection of the Carolina Art Association" published by the Carolina Art Association, 1984



  • Artist's Dates: 1782 - 1860
  • Artist's Nationality: American
  • Medium: Watercolor
  • Support: Ivory
  • Dimensions: 4 5/8 X 3 5/8 Inches
  • Sitter's Dates: (1796-1856)
  • Signature: C.F. 1841
  • Signature Location: bottom left
  • Credit: Bequest of Emma Gilchrist
  • Period: 19th century
  • Accession Number: 1929.001.0002


  • Charles Fraser's Book of Records

    This miniature is listed in the Charles Fraser's Book of Records.
    View the Entry

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