“Elizabeth Chew: Art & the American Revolution”

The Horry County Museum presents a program in collaboration with Coastal Carolina University and the South Carolina 250th Commission on Saturday, July 18th, 2026 at 1 PM. This lecture will examine ways that artists depicted the American Revolution, in South Carolina and elsewhere, while it was happening and after independence was won. We will look at images of the war and its heroes that were available to newly minted Americans at the time as well as ways the war was remembered 50 and 75 years later.
Elizabeth Chew became CEO of the South Carolina Historical Society in January 2024, leading a statewide organization that collects and shares the stories of all South Carolinians. A historian, curator, and educator, she has worked at museums and historic sites for over 30 years
Prior to arriving in Charleston, she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Curator at James Madison’s Montpelier in Virginia. During her 8 ½ years there, Dr. Chew led teams of curators, historians, and educators to research and interpret James Madison and his family, his role in framing the U.S. Constitution, and the community of enslaved people on the plantation.
Earlier in her career, she served as Curator at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville, VA. During her thirteen-year tenure there, she was responsible for ongoing research and interpretation initiatives that wove together the Monticello house, its collections, Jefferson and his family, and the enslaved community.
Elizabeth received a BA from Yale University, a master's from the University of London, and a PhD from UNC- Chapel Hill.
The program is free to the public and will be held in the Museum’s McCown Auditorium located at 805 Main Street, Conway, SC 29526. For more information, call 843-915-5320 or email hcg.museum@horrycountysc.gov. To view a full list of scheduled programs, visit the museum website at Click for Details.