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Number 404 in the list of Saint-Mémin engraved portraits and dated 1806. See Pl. 29, Saint-Mémin and Neoclassical Profiles, by Ellen G. Miles. Excellent condition, 2-1/4" diameter, in period frame, frame size 6" x 7".
Price: $1,750
Gabriel Duvall (1751-1844), Justice of the Supreme Court. Of Huguenot descent, died in Prince George's County, MD. Appointed Comptroller of the Treasury in 1802. Appointed judge in 1881 and held this office for 20 years. (excerpted from Allen's American Biographical Dictionary.)
Charles Balthazer Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin (1770-1852) came to America at age 23 with his father as an exile from the French Revolution. He taught himself the art of engraving and revolutionized the art of portraiture thought use of a new French invention called a 'Physiognotrace" which transferred the outline of the subject onto a piece of paper so the artist cound trace it. He then filled in the details freehand. In 1797, he moved to Philadelphia; and by 1803, was prospering, spending his time in Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, and Charleston doing portraits of famous and wealthy Americana. In all, Saint-Mémin completed nearly 1,000 portraits of the citizens of Federal America. (excerpted from "Masterworks," Colonial Homes, April 1995.)
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