Dorothy S. Emmons (American, 1891-1960) , "Magnolia Plantation on the Ashley- Where the Rice Fields Rolled Gold to the Sea", 1926, oil on canvas board, handwritten label with artist and title, dated, inscribed "In Magnolia Gardens / Charleston S.C." and "The Charleston Renaissance Gallery" label with artist, title and date en verso, 14 in. x 12 in., framed. Provenance: Neal Auction Company, Feb. 12, 2011, lot 313 Provenance: Estates of Joyce and Donald Laidlaw, Bluffton, SC.Note: The daughter of photographer Chansonnetta Emmons, Dorothy Emmons was a painter, etcher, illustrator and writer. She studied at Wellesley College and in Ogunquit with Charles Woodbury. Emmons lived in Newton, Massachusetts and often traveled to paint in Charleston, Savannah, Florida and Bermuda. She was a member of the Copley Society and the Massachusetts Federated Women's Club, from which she won exhibition prizes in 1933 and 1934. Magnolia Plantation on the Ashley, depicted here, was established in 1676 by Thomas Drayton and his wife Ann upon their arrival from Barbados to the new English colony of Charles Towne. They were the first in a direct line of Magnolia family ownership that has lasted more than 300 years. Magnolia Plantation saw immense wealth and growth through the cultivation of rice during the Colonial era, however the gardens eventually became the focus over agriculture following the Civil War. The gardens opened to the public for the first time in 1870, and since that time, the plantation and gardens have grown into one of the greatest public gardens in America. The natural beauty of the landscape undoubtedly would have attracted visiting artists such as Emmons, and the work offered is a dazzling impressionistic view of the sun striking the colorful foliage and water surrounding the solitary figure.