painting of Poinsette Bridge is from a scenic area near his home in upcountry South Carolina.
“Constructed in 1820, the Poinsett Bridge is one of the oldest spans extant in South Carolina. Its impressive construction of wedge-shaped rocks, erected without concrete, has pointed Gothic arches that are rare in the state today. The bridge was part of the State Road from Charleston through Columbia to North Carolina that was designed in 1817-1819 by Joel Poinsett, director of the South Carolina Board of Public Works. The bridge was named in his honor. Poinsett also served as Secretary of War, Minister to Mexico, and first president of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, forerunner of the Smithsonian. It is believed that Robert Mills designed the bridge. Mills became State Architect and Engineer for the South Carolina Board of Public Works in 1820. A brush drawing by Mills of a bridge with Gothic arches and keystone identical to those of Poinsett Bridge lends credence to the belief that Mills designed the bridge. Listed in the National Register October 22, 1970.”
http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/greenville/S10817723003/index.htm
[Images used on front cover, page 2, banners and back cover: Wally Harper, Poinsette Bridge, 2022. Courtesy the artist.]
Featured Artist:
Dr. Wally Harper
Dr. Wally Harper is a retired Internist who practiced in Greenville, South Carolina for 39 1/2 years. He began watercolor painting around 2002 as a hobby and has continued throughout his retirement years.
Painting mostly from photographs, Wally gets his inspiration from places he has visited or images he sees in print. This Fall's featured