Metadata
Title
Madame LaCoste
Creator
Charlotte Bonaparte
Date
1823
Description
Watercolor of Madame LaCoste painted by Charlotte Bonaparte at Point Breeze. Signed and dated in lower left corner. Emilie Lacoste was the beautiful Creole wife of Felix Lacoste, publisher of Joseph Bonaparte's New York City newspaper, Le Courrier des Etats-Unis. She was brought to "Point Breeze" as a companion for Charlotte Bonaparte during her three years in America. After Charlotte returned to Europe, Emilie remained at "Point Breeze" to comfort the lonely ex-king as his mistress. (She later returned to Paris where she engaged in a tempestuous love affair with the poet Prosper Merimee which ended in a duel between the poet and her husband.)
Extent
Frame 8.5" H x 10.25" W
Medium
Watercolor on wove paper
Provenance
Gift of Emily G. Hopkinson, 1973
Collection
Bonaparte Collection, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia
Identifier
1973.08.01