Drawing after a Portrait of Washington College’s 13th President William James Rivers

Canvas: Soft pastel, charcoal & charcoal pencil on raw canvas, under clear leveling gel
Frame: Stained pine wood
2020

William James Rivers was Washington College’s 13th president. Before he came to the college he was a professor in his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina at the College of South Carolina (now the University of South Carolina). In 1873, during Reconstruction, the college’s board allowed the formerly enslaved South Carolina secretary of state, Henry E. Hayne, to enroll in the college’s medical school. This prompted three professors, including Rivers, to resign. After his resignation, Rivers became the “principal” of Washington College.

Rivers was also a founding member of the South Carolina Historical Society. In 1876, at the society’s first meeting since before the Civil War, Rivers gave a speech reiterating his belief in white male supremacy. The text accompanying this portrait of Rivers are excerpts from this speech at the historical society. The document was formatted after 19th century book title pages. The red text appearing above the spear ornament at the top of the page are imagined period text written by the artist, the words that follow are excerpts from the Washington College president’s address at the historical society.