"Hampton Plantation Portico" - A Plein Air Painting of a Historic Site

Hampton Plantation State Historic Site was a great spot to paint this afternoon. Recently I've been working inside on larger paintings but was drawn to paint outside today by the bright sunshine and mild spring weather.

The painting "Hampton Plantation" shows a view of the house's Adam style portico (porch) that was added to the original 1750 structure about 1790, shortly before a visit by President George Washington.
The Live Oak branch in the upper left of the painting is from a historic tree called the "Washington Oak".

My charcoal drawing of another view of the portico and other paintings of the mansion may be seen by clicking here.


During his visit in 1791, President Washington was asked if he thought this oak tree blocked the view of the new Portico from the front drive of the house and should be removed.
Washington reportedly said the tree should stay and the owners obliged by leaving it to grow where it remains to this day.

Hampton Plantation was a thriving rice plantation throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. After the War Between the States, it fell into decline until 1937 when it was restored by Archibald Rutledge, a descendant of the original owners who became South Carolina's first poet laureate.

The following poem was written by Rutledge about his garden at Hampton Plantation:

"The Garden I Made" by Archibald H. Rutledge

Whenever I Think Of
Life's Light That Must Fade
The Gleams And The Glow
That Must Pass In The Shade;
When Hopes That I Had
Now But Lave Me Afraid-
With Joy I Remember
The Garden I Made

The Redbuds And Dogwoods
I Planted Will Grow;
The Flaming Azaleas
Will Blossom, I Know;
The Chaliced Syringa's
Wild Beauty Will Show
When I Shall Be One
With The Long, Long Ago


The Glimmering Gardenias,
The Wildflowers Wan,
The Red Rose, The Lily
As White As A Swan;
The Garden I Made
Will Keep Blossoming On
When Life With Its Fevers
Is Faded And Gone.

The State of South Carolina purchased Hampton Plantation from Archibald Rutledge in 1971. Today the SC State Park Service preserves the plantation as a historic site and interprets it's natural and cultural history to the public. http://www.southcarolinaparks.com/park-finder/state-park