There are plenty of things to do in historic Charleston on a cold or rainy day, and the scenery can be as enjoyable inside as the city features a wealth of museums and museum houses that are popular with visitors. One is the Gibbes Museum of Art on Meeting Street. A 1905 structure built in the Beaux Arts style, the Gibbes has been at the forefront of artistic endeavors in Charleston for more than a century. Along with a wealth of archived artistic artifacts, there are more than 600 works on permanent display in a variety of oils, miniatures, sculptures and photographs, featuring such outstanding Charleston artists as Charles Fraser, Thomas Sully, Henrietta Johnson and George Cook. One of the featured artists is my great-great-great grandfather, Auguste Paul Trouche, whose oils on canvas and miniature paintings on ivory are exquisite.
