Sarah Reeve Ladson (1790-1866) was an American

socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditio ...

, arts patron, and style icon. Born into a prominent

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

family, she was an influential member of the South Carolinian

planter class The planter class, known alternatively in the United States as the Southern aristocracy, was a racial and socioeconomic caste of pan-American society that dominated 17th and 18th century agricultural markets. The Atlantic slave trade permitted p ...

. She was regarded as one of the most fashionable American women of her time and was the subject of various portraits and sculptures.

Biography

Ladson was born in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

James Ladson James Henry Ladson (1753 – 1812) was an American politician, wealthy plantation owner from Charles Town and officer of the American Revolution. He served as the Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina from 1792 to 1794, and was a member of the ...

, a wealthy planter and slave owner, and Judith Smith. A member of the prominent

Ladson family The Ladson family is an American family of English descent that belonged to the planter and merchant elite of Charleston, South Carolina from the late 17th century. The family were among the first handful of European settlers of the English colony ...

, her father was a military officer in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and served as the

Lieutenant-Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. Her mother, Judith, was a daughter of Benjamin Smith, a South Carolina slave trader, planter, banker and speaker in the colony's Royal Assembly. Through her mother, Ladson was a descendant of Thomas Smith, a colonial governor of South Carolina, and

Joseph Wragg Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

, a slave trader and politician.''Biographical directory of the South Carolina Senate, 1776–1985'', vol. 2, p. 881, University of South Carolina Press, 1986; Maurie D. McInnis, ''The Politics of Taste in Antebellum Charleston'', p. 14, UNC Press Books, 2015; Ladson was a sister of

James H. Ladson James Henry Ladson (1795–1868) was an American planter class, planter and businessman from Charleston, South Carolina. He was the owner of James H. Ladson & Co., a major Charleston firm that was active in the rice and cotton business, and owned ...

. On April 9, 1807, she married Robert Gilmor Jr., a merchant from Baltimore. She was his second wife. They had no biological children, but raised their niece, Isabel Ann Baron. They later supported the business endeavors of Isabel's husband, John McPherson Brien. Eyre Crowe - Subasta de esclavos

Ladson was prominent in both Charleston and Baltimore

society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Socie ...

, and was regarded as one of the most fashionable American women of her time. A patron of the arts, she was the subject of various portraits and sculptures, including a portrait by

Thomas Sully Thomas Sully (June 19, 1783November 5, 1872) was a portrait painter in the United States. Born in Great Britain, he lived most of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He painted in the style of Thomas Lawrence. His subjects included nationa ...

and a sculpture by

Horatio Greenough Horatio Greenough (September 6, 1805 – December 18, 1852) was an American sculptor best known for his United States government commissions '' The Rescue'' (1837–50), ''George Washington'' (1840), and ''The Discovery of America'' (1840–4 ...

that are on display at the

Gibbes Museum of Art The Gibbes Museum of Art, formerly known as the Gibbes Art Gallery, is an art museum in Charleston, South Carolina. Established as the Carolina Art Association in 1858, the museum moved into a new Beaux Arts building at 135 Meeting Street, in t ...

. A portrait by

Edward Greene Malbone Edward Greene Malbone (1777 – May 7, 1807) was an American painter, and the most sought-after miniaturist of his day. He was an influence on other artists including Charles Fraser, William Dunlap and John Wesley Jarvis. Edward Greene Malbone ...

is in the collection of the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College. Maurie D. McInnis, an art historian, noted that Ladson "visually made reference to the taste of the slave women around whom she had been raised" with the turban and bright colours portrayed in Sully's portrait of her. Sully's portrait of Ladson has been exhibited in ''Grandeur Preserved: Masterworks Presented by Historic Charleston Foundation'' in New York, and ''Art in America: Three Hundred Years of Innovation'' in Shanghai and Beijing. The

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

''Sarah Ladson'' was named after her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ladson, Sarah Reeve American people of English descent American art patrons American socialites American women philanthropists

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a piou ...

People from Charleston, South Carolina