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"S" is for Smith, Alice Ravenel Huger (1876-1958)

South Carolina From A to Z
SC Public Radio

"S" is for Smith, Alice Ravenel Huger (1876-1958). Artist. Although largely self-taught, Smith emerged as the leading artist of the Charleston Renaissance. Through her writings and art she helped to disseminate the history and charm of her native lowcountry to a national audience. In 1917 she began the study of Japanese color wood-block prints. Synthesizing the methods of the Japanese with lowcountry imagery, Smith invented a visual language that would remain with her for the rest of her life.  By the late 1920s she had abandoned prints and concentrated on watercolor. She was also active in the field of publishing. Alice Ravenel Huger Smith provided illustrations for The Dwelling Houses of Charleston, South Carolina—a work that was critical to the evolution of the city’s preservation movement and brought national attention to the port city.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.