Sallie Ellington Middleton (1926-2009) Pilated Woodpecker Lithograph Signed in Pencil by the artist as well as numbered 444. In frame measures 20.5"x28.25"x1", Weight 6 lbs. PROVENANCE: The Estate of Dr. Fraser Wilson, Charleston SC. Dr. Wilson will be remembered for his love of antiques and his dedication to Charleston's history and material culture. He was a Life Trustee of Historic Charleston Foundation and opened his home for house tours for 39 years. Dr. Wilson was appointed to the South Carolina Governor's Mansion Commission by Governors James B. Edwards, Richard W. Riley, Carol Campbell, David M. Beasley, James Hodges, and Mark Sanford. He was awarded the Order of the Palmetto by the Governors for his exemplary service on the Commission He was a member of the Charleston Club, the South Carolina Society, the St. Andrew's Society, the St. Cecilia Society, the Agricultural Society and the Carolina Yacht Club. He was a member of St. Michael's church. Elington Middleton won numerous awards for her work. Her work can be found in such museums as the Gibbes Art Museum in Charleston, S. C., the Mint Museum in Charlotte, N.C., Magnolia Gardens in Charleston, S.C, and the Village Galleries in Asheville, N. C. It has also been featured in many magazines and calendars. A book about the artist, The Magical Realm of Sallie Ellington Middleton by Celestine Sibley, was published in 1980, and Sallie illustrated three other books. All but about 10 paintings have a blue jay feather hidden somewhere in the picture. This has become a special trade mark of Sallie's. In 1946, Sallie Ellington met George Abbott Middleton during debutant season in Charleston, SC. Abb, as he was known, saw her at a party and fell instantly in love with her. He made certain that all the hostesses put him as her escort for every dance for the rest of the season. At twenty-two years of age, Abb was newly home from the war during which he had not only flown a B-24, and trained other young men in celestial navigation, but he’d also piloted eight successful submarine attacks, some solo, off the coast of France. - 5 For these, he was awarded many medals of honor, including the Distinguished Flying Cross. On September 3, 1947, Middleton and Abb got married at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Asheville, NC. Abb, who had given up piloting (for which he had a passion) to help his desperate father save the family business (shipping cotton primarily to England and Germany), which Abb knew could not be saved since England couldn’t afford cotton and we were at war with Germany. So when they closed the books for good, he tried farming to make a living. Middleton and Abb moved to Edisto Island.

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