Untitled (Alfred Hutty Self Portrait), no date, Pencil, 7 5/8" x 9 3/4",
Courtesy of South Carolina State Museum
On Bedon’s Alley, ca. 1920, Pencil on Paper, 12" x 17 1/2", Courtesy of Dr. James G. Simpson.
(This drawing presaged Hutty’s first etching–of the same subject–in 1921. -ED)
y 1919, Alfred Heber Hutty (1877-1954) was already an established artist in New York. He came to Charleston, South Carolina
to teach at what is now the Gibbes Museum of Art. Hutty’s long love affair with his adopted city began when he was about 42, and he
wintered in Charleston for almost the rest of his life.
Hutty was born in Grand Haven, Michigan. An early aptitude for art won him a scholarship to art school at age fifteen. For a time, he
was a stained-glass window designer at, among others, Tiffany Glass Studios in New York. A student of Birge Harrison, he, along with
George Bellows and others began Woodstock’s Summer Art Colony where Hutty always kept a summer home.
Highly skilled as a painter, designer, and especially as a draftsman, Hutty’s Charleston move in mid-life would begin the most
varied and productive years of his exceptional career. It was here that he learned etching (for which he won many distinctions,
medals, and honors in the U.S., England, and France), established a print studio, and participated with
eight other artists in forming the historic Charleston Etchers Club. Hutty executed many etchings,
drypoints, pencil drawings, watercolors, pastels, and oil paintings of Charleston, its people,
and environs. Most important, he would help lead the Charleston Renaissance of
writers, playwrights, poets, and artists. Alfred Hutty’s national reputation provided a
window to a larger art world in America for Charleston’s Renaissance Artists, in
particular for Anna H. Taylor, Elizabeth O’Neill Verner, and Alice R. Smith.
Hutty and his wife Bessie were among the earlier pioneers in historic
C h a r l e s to n ’ s a d o p t e d R e n a i ssa n c e Ma n
A rare sampling of his var ied and master f ul ar tistr y
Charleston preservation, restoring 46 Tradd Street and its carriage
house as an elegant home and studio. He was involved, too, in the Footlight
Players; assisting in restoring its Workshop/Playhouse on Queen Street,
painting the mural in its lobby, acting in plays, and providing leadership.
Art and Commentary Organized and Selected by Leonard L . Long, Jr. with Carlye Jane Doughert y
In Old Charleston, 1928, Etching, 8" x 9", Courtesy of Howle-Throckmorton Collection
(Hutty adopted the snail to follow his signature as he was late in life coming to etching which would become
his most well-regarded medium. -ED)
“Hutty’s portraits of human types are
no less remarkable than his portraits
of trees. My favorite is the old blind
Mauma, as gnarled as an ancient
tree, living over in thought a long life
of varied experience. The beauty of
character which the artist has revealed
in a corresponding beauty of living
and unflinching line (of his etching
needle) makes this a great portrait in
the tradition of Rembrandt’s immortal
old women.”
Duncan Phillips
A m e r ic a n E t c h e r s , Vo l . II (1929)
An Old Mauma, 1926, Etching, 8 1/2" x 7 1/8",
Courtesy of Dr. James G. Simpson
St. Phillip’s Church, ca. 1930, Oil, 32 3/8" x 32 3/4", Gift of Mrs. Ashby Farrow to Gibbes Museum of Art
In a Southern City, 1929, Watercolor, 16" x 211/2", Courtesy Dr. James G. Simpson
Untitled (Church Street, Charleston), no date, Watercolor, 20" x 25", Courtesy of Howle-Throckmorton Collection
“His intention (is) of making an aesthetic as
well as a historical record. Hutty captures
the essence of Charleston as it exists in the
mind of the artist. He salvages what he
can of the picturesque antiquity which is
passing away and gives permanence to that
mood which the Northern visitor feels so
poignantly in the Southern city.”
Duncan Phillips
A m e r ic a n E t c h e r s , Vo l . II (1929)
Untitled (Crap Game 2), no date, Drypoint, 8" x 9 3/8",
Courtesy of Howle-Throckmorton Collection
Gossips, 1930, Watercolor, 9" x 12",
Courtesy of The Wright Southern Collection
At One Hundred Nine (Tradd Street), 1923, Etching, 6" x 6 1/2 ",
Courtesy of Howle-Throckmorton Collection
At Low Tide (aka On the Way House),
1949, Etching, 4 1/2" x 3 3/16", Courtesy of
Howle-Throckmorton Collection
Back Street Washday, ca. 1950, Oil, 30" x 24",
Courtesy of The Wright Southern Collection
Spirituals in the Lowcountry, ca. 1930, Mixed Media, 5" x 6", Courtesy of The Wright Southern Collection
High Tide, no date, Pastel, 16" x 12",
Courtesy of The Wright Southern Collection
“When I turn the corner at Tradd and
Church, I still expect to see that tall,
distinguished figure in the grey felt hat
and tweed jacket. I remember the way his
eyes would light up, the sudden smile, the
warmth of those strong sensitive hands
reaching out to grasp mine.”
The Border Gate at 14 Legare Street, 1926,
Etching, 8 / " x 5 / ", Courtesy of Mr. and Mrs.
Leonard L. Long, Jr.
3 8
Catfish Row, ca.1935, Oil, 9" x 11", Courtesy of The Wright Southern Collection
1 2
Patricia Robinson
Charleston Actress & Playwright
Two Oaks, Charleston, ca.1936, Pencil, 00" x 00", Courtesy of Dr. & Mrs. Bert Pruitt
Sunlight and Shadow, ca. 1940, Watercolor, 16" x 211/2", Courtesy of Howle-Throckmorton Collection
Sweeping the Leaves at Magnolia Garden, no date, Watercolor, 16 1/2" x 9 1/2", Courtesy of Howle-Throckmorton Collection
The Jenkins Orphanage Band, founded in the 1890s by the
Rev. Daniel Jenkins, raised funds for an orphanage after he
found four homeless young black orphans shivering in a rail
yard. They played on Charleston streets and throughout the
United States and Europe, to much acclaim starring in the
New York opening of Porgy in 1926. The vitality of this group
is captured in the Jenkins Orphanage Band pencil drawing.
Adapted from A l f r e d H u t t y a n d t h e C h a r l e s t o n
R e n a i s s a n c e by Saunders and McAden (1990)
Jenkins Orphanage Band, ca. 1931; Pencil on Paper, 10 3/8" X 9 9/16",
Courtesy of Dr. and Mrs. Bert Pruitt
Untitled (Under St. Michael’s Portico),
no date, Etching, 12" x 8", Courtesy of
Howle-Throckmorton Collection
St. Andrews Episcopal Church, no date, Watercolor, 15" x 19 5/8", Courtesy of
Mr. and Mrs. A. Dano Davis and The Charleston Renaissance Gallery
Sea Island Tree, no date, Pencil, 11 3/4" x 16 3/4",
Courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Leonard L. Long, Jr.
Enterprise, ca. 1944, Drypoint, 7 3/4" x 5 3/4",
Gift of Mrs. Alfred Hutty to Gibbes Museum of Art
In Magnolia Gardens, no date, Oil, 25" x 30",
Courtesy of Carolina Galleries
In a Southern City, no date, Oil, 36" x 32", Courtesy of Carolina Galleries
“His paintings and sketches of Charleston and the Lowcountry and the people in the area speak in an international tongue that communicates
by feeling rather than by words. They say in quite plain terms that here was an artist in complete rapport with his subjects. And, so he was.”
Former Charleston N e ws
and
C o u r i e r Editor, Jack Leland
Backstage, 1940, Drypoint, 12" x 9",
Courtesy of Howle-Throckmorton Collection
Pirate Houses, Charleston, 1932, Drypoint, 7 3/8" x 9",
Courtesy of Howle-Throckmorton Collection
“He {Hutty} has set down, with warmth
and unerring accuracy, a poetic record of
the Charleston of his time...he was that
rare creature, an aristocrat of the mind
and heart, an artist of taste and humor
and compassion.”
Emmett Robinson in F o o t n o t e s ,
the newsletter of The Footlight
Players. ca. 1954
The Footlight Players Workshop, ca.1936, Watercolor, 18" x 22",
Courtesy of Mr. & Mrs. Leonard L. Long, Jr.
Selma Tharin, 1923, Pencil, 10" x 13", Courtesy of Dr. James G. Simpson
(Selma Tharin Furtwangler Doterrer was a great friend of Hutty’s, the subject of many drawings
and an active community figure in Charleston well into her nineties. -ED)
Untitled (Carolina Cabin), ca. 1940, Oil, 32 1/4" x 40 1/4", Courtesy of Howle-Throckmorton Collection
Pink House, Chalmers Street, no date, Watercolor, 16" x 22", Courtesy of The Wright Southern Collection
Close of Day, no date, Watercolor, 18" x 24", Courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Brumley
“To write about Alfred Hutty with complete
appreciation of his knowledge and skill one
should be an etcher, a portrait painter, a
authority on architecture, and a connoisseur
of trees. I fail to qualify in any of these
requirements. And yet I can pay my tribute as
one of the many who recognize mastery.”
Duncan Phillips
A m e r ic a n E t c h e r s , Vo l . II (1929)
Becky Smoking, 1951, Drypoint, 3 5/8" x 4 5/8", Gift of Alfred Hutty to
Gibbes Museum of Art
54 Meeting Street, 1926, Oil, 15 1/2" x 113/8",
Courtesy of Dr. and Mrs. Bert Pruitt
Flower Vendors at Charleston Market, 1948, Drypoint, 8" x 10 3/8",
Gift of Mrs. Alfred Hutty to Gibbes Museum of Art
“Although I loved the old town greatly, the magnificence of the Magnolia and the Middleton Gardens
completely enthralled me, so that for several years, during my three or four months visits I painted
mostly the gardens.” Alfred Hutty
Wash Day, Charleston, no date, Watercolor, 17" x 23 3/8", Courtesy of Charleston Renaissance Gallery
In 1919, Hutty was on the way to Florida and wired
wife Bess that he had “found heaven” in Charleston.
The exquisite irony is that Hutty discovered, painted,
etched, drew, pasteled, and bequeathed his special
pieces of heaven to us all. Fifty-seven years after he left
his adopted city, we cherish his many gifts all the more.
- ED.
The Gibbes Museum of Art is organizing a major traveling exhibition
for 2012 with an accompanying catalog on Alfred Heber Hutty. The
project will shed new light on the artist’s career, his influence on
Toward A New Day, ca. 1942, Drypoint, 9" x 12", Courtesy of Howle-
Cypress Swamp, no date, Oil, 23 / " x 20", Courtesy of Carolina Galleries
34
Throckmorton Collection (This was said by Hutty’s son to have been his father’s
favorite etching of the Lowcountry, perhaps for its seeming narrative. -ED)
American art, and his significance as a major artist of the Charleston
Renaissance period. The catalog will include several scholarly essays as
well as a catalog raisonné of Hutty’s prints. -ED.