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"A" is for Art

South Carolina From A to Z
SC Public Radio

"A" is for Art. Throughout the history of South Carolina, art has reflected the tastes and aspirations of its citizenry. In general, South Carolinians’ taste has been conservative. With few exceptions, painting dominated sculpture in the history of art in South Carolina. With the advent of the 20th century, art slowly gained more prominence. The South Carolina and West Indian Exposition featured local as well as imported art. The Charleston Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s brought national acclaim to local artists. In the 1950s artists of a more independent nature began to influence and teach locals. Among them --William Halsey, Edmund Yaghjian, Catherine Rembert and Leo Twiggs. For more than a century, art has had a significant economic impact by virtue of its role in fostering tourism and through museums dedicated to art.

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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.