USCB’s Center for the Arts is currently presenting “‘Payne-ful’ Business, Charleston’s Journey to Truth,” its first gallery show of the year.
Running through Feb. 20, 2025, the exhibit is a collaboration between Charlestonian author Margaret Seidler and John W. Jones from Columbia.
Featuring more than 40 paintings created by Jones using oils, acrylics and watercolors, the works in the exhibit are inspired by Seidler’s historical research into her family history, which revealed her relation to William Payne, her great-grandfather and domestic slave trading auctioneer.
Jones drew inspiration from the Payne newspaper ads which promoted for sale, blacksmiths, cooks, child nurses, brick masons and dozens of other talented enslaved people. He transformed their trade, skills, and labor into a compelling visual narrative of the pervasiveness and magnitude of the contributions of the enslaved. Each is accompanied by the textual images of the supporting newspaper advertisement, including its archival provenance.
Seidler’s book, “‘Payne-ful’ Business, Journey to Truth” (Evening Post Books, February 2024, evepostbooks.com), incorporates Jones’ compelling images in support of the historical interpretation of her recently discovered ancestors.
In addition to the exhibit, Margaret Seidler will be the first presenter at this year’s Books Sandwiched In, the popular book review series sponsored by Friends of the Beaufort Library. Her presentation will take place at noon on Monday, January 27th in the auditorium of USCB Center for the Arts. To learn more about Books Sandwiched In 2025, visit www.friendsofthebeaufortlibrary.com
