OPEN TODAY 10-5pm
OPEN

Artist Spotlight: Corrie McCallum (American, 1914–2009)

Our current exhibition, Breaking Down Barriers: 300 Years of Women in Art, features over 30 groundbreaking women artists, each with their own compelling story and artistic vision. Included among this group is Charleston’s own Corrie McCallum. Throughout her long and productive career, McCallum was a fixture in the Charleston art community. As a result, the Gibbes collection includes many of her works, a selection of which are featured above.

McCallum was born in Sumter, South Carolina in 1914. She attended the University of South Carolina and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Following an extended period of study in Mexico with her husband, fellow artist William Halsey (American, 1915–1999), McCallum and her family settled in Charleston in 1942. Though she chose to live in Charleston, McCallum stayed current with the New York art scene. She followed the development of Abstract Expressionism and incorporated the style into her work, as demonstrated by paintings such as View of Toledo and Boats of Nazare that feature gestural brushwork and reduction of forms.

Under the guidance of Corrie McCallum, the Gibbes created and conducted the first comprehensive art appreciation program for Charleston County public school students.

Under the guidance of Corrie McCallum, the Gibbes created and conducted the first comprehensive art appreciation program for Charleston County public school students.

In addition to her vast body of work, McCallum made significant contributions to the Charleston art community as an educator. She held education positions at several institutions, including the Telfair Museum of Art, Gibbes Museum of Art, College of Charleston, and Newberry College, and throughout her life remained an outspoken advocate for the visual arts.

McCallum’s painting View of Toledo will remain on view in Breaking Down Barriers through January 8, 2012—don’t miss this great exhibition! Have you already seen Breaking Down Barriers? Leave a comment here to share your experience with us.

Pam Wall, curator of exhibitions, Gibbes Museum of Art

Published December 2, 2011

Related Content

Life After the Prize: Bo Bartlett

If you were an artist, how would your life change with $10,000? For Bo Bartlett, this hypothetical became a reality in 2017 when he was named winner of the 1858…

READ MORE

The Gibbes Museum of Art Announces New Acquisitions by African American Artists

CHARLESTON, S.C., February 1, 2021 – The Gibbes Museum of Art, home to the foremost collection of American art that incorporates the story of Charleston, is proud to announce the…

READ MORE

2020 Winner of the 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art

The Gibbes Museum of Art is proud to announce Stephen L. Hayes Jr. as the 2020 winner of the 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art. A North Carolina-based artist, Hayes…

READ MORE

Digitally Mapping the Charleston Renaissance: Recent Grad Inspired by the Gibbes Collection

Naomi Edmondson, a former Gibbes intern and employee, recently received her master’s in art history and museum studies from Virginia Commonwealth University. A research project on digital mapping was inspired…

READ MORE
 
\