Saint-Mémin and the neoclassical profile portrait in America

the long version

During the years from 1796 to 1810, Charles Balthazar Julien Fevret de Saint-Memin (1770-1852) made some of the most memorable images in the history of American portraiture. Because of his unusually precise style and the multitude of sitters he portrayed, his distinctive profile portraits have come to epitomize Federal America. Among his subjects were George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis, Mother Seton, John Adams, and Paul Revere. Eventually Saint-Memin returned to France, leaving behind no successful imitators of his art. Among the most individualistic images from the Federal period, his profile portraits are a unique legacy to this nation. This book documents all of the artist's portraits, as well as his landscapes, plans, and other engravings; and the portrait entries include short biographies of the subjects. The catalogue is preceded by an illustrated history of the neoclassical profile portrait in America, and a biography of the artist.