William May Wightman (1808-1882) was chosen as the Bishop of the Southern Methodist Episcopal Church in 1866, after a distinguished career as an educator and Methodist minister. Educated at the College of Charleston, he served as a Methodist circuit rider, taught English literature at Randolph-Macon College, edited the South Christian Advocate, and was the first president of Wofford College (see Wofford College). This portrait was completed in 1840 by Henry Inman (1801-1846).
Courtesy of the Gibbes Museum of Art/Carolina Art Association.
