[Saint-Mémin, Charles B.J.F. de]:

$16,500 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

[CHALK PROFILE PORTRAIT OF WILLIAM EATON, SOLDIER, DIPLOMAT, AND WITNESS IN THE TRIAL OF AARON BURR FOR TREASON]. A superb portrait by the well-known French-American artist, Charles Saint-Mémin, of diplomat and soldier William Eaton, created in Richmond, Virginia circa 1808, when Eaton was in the city to testify in the treason trial of Aaron Burr. Charles Saint-Mémin (1770–1852) immigrated to the United States from France in 1793. Refugees of the French Revolution, he and his family had lost their lands and money with the abolition of the hereditary nobility in 1790. Saint-Mémin taught himself the techniques of engraving and drawing in New York, and in 1796 began making profile portraits with a physiognotrace. Over the next fourteen years he travelled throughout the United States, making profile portraits, both original drawings and in the form of small engravings. During this time, he executed portraits of many of the leading figures of the day, from United States Presidents down. As Ellen Miles points out, Saint-Mémin's "profile portraits have come to epitomize Federal America." Miles' extensive work on Saint-Mémin, published by the National Portrait Gallery, describes every aspect of his career, and lists almost a thousand known portraits by the artist.Saint-Mémin spent less than a year in Richmond (1807–1808), but it was an incredibly productive period for him, as he made more than 120 portraits while in the city. At the time of his stay, Richmond was in the midst of Aaro

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