Pair of mahogany Grecian side chairs, scroll back, saber legs, and Boulle inlay in cresting rail. These chairs are believed to have been made for Joseph Bonaparte's first home at Point Breeze near Bordentown, New Jersey, c. 1815. When the first Point Breeze burned in 1820, some of the furniture from the home was saved. It is believed that these two chairs were retrieved from the fire, as the forelegs on both chairs are charred on their back edges. The chairs were supposedly presented to Judge Hopkinson by Joseph Bonaparte, and they were presented to the Athenaeum by Miss Emily G. Hopkinson, who was one of Hopkinson's descendants.
Alexander I / Aleksandr Pavlovich / Александр Павлович (1777-1825)
Charlotte Bonaparte (1802 – 1839) was the daughter of Joseph Bonaparte and the niece of Napoleon. Raised in France, Charlotte joined her father in 1821 at his New Jersey Estate, Point Breeze, and remained there until 1824. This portrait of Charlotte is attributed to painter Charles B. Lawrence.
Jerome Bonaparte (1784-1860), youngest of Napoleon's brothers, married Elizabeth Patterson of Baltimore in 1803. (From that union are descended the American Bonapartes.) Napoleon, however, annulled the marriage by imperial decree and Jerome was made King of Westphalia shortly after his arranged marriage to Princess Catherine of Wurtenberg in 1807. Joseph Bonaparte gave this portrait of Elizabeth Patterson to Mrs. Joseph Hopkinson.
This pencil portrait is by Adolph Mailliard (b. 1819 in Bordentown, New Jersey), son of Bonaparte’s personal secretary, Louis Mailliard (b. 1795). It is believed that Adolph made the portrait on one of the many trips which Bonaparte and the Mailliards made to Europe. He sent the portrait as a gift to Mrs. Langhorne Thorne, the concierge at Point Breeze. Adolph settled in San Rafael, California in 1867.
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.)
Portrait of Napoleon shown in a 3/4 view. Below is an eagle brandishing a sword in its claw and labeled France underneath.
Napoleon aboard the Northumberland on his way to exile on the island of St. Helena in 1815. Verso has inventory label with "4401/Napoleon I" in pen and ink and presumably a French, 19th century hand.
Decorative ornamental, bronze figurine of Napoleon.
Standing figure of Daniel Webster, facing forward with head turned slightly to left. High prominent forehead, deep set eyes and stern mouth. Subject is depicted wearing a tail coat, with his right hand tucked into his coat above his waist. A draped architectural element is depicted to the right of the subject along with two books; the drapery over the architectural element continues around the rear of the base behind the figure. Incised on back of base: T Ball Sculpt / Boston Mass / 1853. Daniel Webster (1782- 1852), American Statesman, was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire. Aspiring to but never attaining the Presidency of the United States, Webster's political career included terms as a Congressman, Senator, and Secretary of State. His eloquence as a speaker and writer, however, earned him the widest renown. This statuette is a replica of a figure modelled by Thomas Ball (1819-1911), son of a Charlestown, Massachusetts, house and sign painter. Art dealer C.W. Nichols obtained the copyright to reproduce this popular statuette, making it one of the earliest examples of mass-produced American sculpture.
Marble bust of General George G. Meade (1815-1872), executed in the classical manner with the head at a slight turn to the right. General Meade was a native Philadelphian and served as commander in chief of the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. Sculptor Joseph A Bailly (1825-1883) was born in Paris and came to the United States in 1848 and to Philadelphia in 1850. In 1876 he became the professor of sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
Framed circular Parian portrait medallion of Napoleon III. Inscribed at bottom: J PEYRE NIEUWERKERKE DIR
Wax portrait in oval shadow box frame of Robert Oakeley (1771-1813) of Philadelphia. He is buried in St. Peter's Churchyard, 313 Pine Street.
On back: Robert Oakeley of Phila / No. 41 Chatham St. / New York / Taken in 1800 / Father of Geo. Washington Oakeley / b. July 21, 1807 d. June 2, 1874 / Married Charlotte Francisca / Richards b. Jan. 19, 1802 / d. Mar. 6, 1867
Necker, Suzanne Curchod (Mme Jacques Necker) (1737-1794)
Suzanne Curchod Necker (1737-1794) was married to Jacques Necker, finance minister of France under King Louis XVI. She was an accomplished writer who hosted one of the most celebrated salons in Paris, where luminaries gathered to discuss art, literature, and politics. In 1778, seeking to ease the suffering of overcrowded hospitals, she remodeled a monastery and established a neighborhood charity hospital, with the aim of providing every patient their own bed. Today that hospital continues as the Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital, a teaching hospital in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, affiliated with the University of Paris Descartes.
Standing figure of Napoleon. His right hand is raised, holding his hat and his left hand rests on his sword at his side. The figure is cast in bronze with a light brown patina. Bronze is bolted to a brown marble base. Stamped on back of brass: GESCHUTZT (patented)
Brass figure of the Roman god Mercury carrying a caduceus (a staff entwined by two snakes) and wearing winged sandals and a petasus (winged cap). Mercury stands balanced on one foot upon a column of air emanating from the wind god Aeolus, atop a frieze of putti (cherubim or cupids) supported by a marble base. A brass label is attached to base of figure: "Diskos Handicap 1898-1899."
after the original by Jean de Bologne, c. 1580
This view of the Fairmount Waterworks from the west bank of the Schuylkill River is a close copy of an engraving by English landscape artist William Henry Bartlett (1809-1854), which was published in his American Scenery (London, 1840).
The waterworks facility was designed by Frederick Graff (1774-1847) and began operation in 1815. The covered Upper Ferry Bridge, depicted in the distance, was built in 1812 and destroyed by fire in 1838. The locks of the Schuylkill Navigation Company are seen at the right. The "fair mount" above the waterworks complex is the present site of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), shown here as a lieutenant-general, was Commander in Chief of the United States Army from 1862 to 1865. A national hero after the Civil War, Grant became the eighteenth President of the United States in 1869. His two terms in the White House were marked with the problems of Reconstruction in the South, political graft in Washington, and financial panics. Grant came to Philadelphia in 1876 to officiate at the opening of the Centennial Exposition in Fairmount Park.
William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891), a career Army officer, served under General Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War battle of Shiloh (1862). In 1864 he achieved his greatest military renown for his "March to the Sea" from Atlanta to Savannah, laying waste to the most populated area of Georgia by the extensive destruction of property. After the war Sherman became a lieutenant general. Following Grant's inauguration as President in 1869, Sherman succeeded him as Commander in Chief of the Army, a position he held until his retirement in 1883.
The artist of these paired portraits of Grant and Sherman is unknown, but one of the frames bears the label of a Washington, DC, frame maker, suggesting that they may have been painted in that city.
Paperweight of stone used at the Invalides
Carved ivory profile bust of Napoleon I, in low relief. Faces left, wears military uniform with epaulette. Mounted as a paperweight on a regular red and gray variegated marble plinth. Typed note taped to bottom: "Napoleon's remains were brought from St. Helena to Paris in 1840, and his tomb at the Invalides was constructed in the period 1843-1861. My grandmother, Mary Middleton, went to the tomb at some time during this period and secured from a workman there this piece of Finnish marble, on which she had placed this bas relief. W.L.F." (William Logan Fox, brother of donor.)
Depicts Timon seated in a cave receiving the philosopher Apemantus. Timon leans on a shovel and wears a red toga. Apemantus stands with right hand extended toward Timon, holds staff in left hand, and wears a brown toga and sandals. Frame has spiral turning between moldings along outside of frame and foliate motif along inside of frame. Leslie was born in England, but his father was a Philadelphia watchmaker who returned to the United States in 1799 with his family. Leslie went back to England ca. 1812 to study art, especially under Benjamin West. He continued to exhibit at PAFA. Was elected an Associate at the Royal Academy in 1821 and an Academician in 1826. Remained in England for the rest of his life, except for a short period in the U.S. (1833-34).
When Napoleon died at St. Helena on May 5, 1821, his doctors -- Francis Burton and Francesco Antommarchi -- made a gypsum cast of his head. With the rehabilitation of the former French Emperor's reputation in the 1830s, Dr. Antommarchi produced plaster and bronze copies from the original death mask mold which he sold by subscription. Dr. Antommarchi later emigrated to Cuba where he met the young Philadelphia-born physician Richard Wilson to whom one of the plaster subscription masks was given. Dr. Wilson's son brought the mask to Philadelphia in the late 19th century and it descended through the Wilson family.
Small oval portrait of Monsieur Fremineau, waist view, facing three quarters to the right. Blue eyes with brown hair which curls over forehead. Wears double breasted black coat with brass buttons, and white waistcoat, neckcloth and cravat.
Background is blue/gray and painted in cross stroke style. Gilt and gesso frame: Inner frame is oval, outer frame is serpentine oblong with floral and foliate scroll decoration at corners. (Frame identical to frames for 1977.05.02-04)
Small oval portrait of Madame Chastelain, mother-in-law of Eliza Fremineau Chastelain (1977.05.03). Waist view, seated in chair draped with multi-colored cloth. Hair is parted with curls at sides. Wears untied yellow bonnet, long sleeved blue dress with lace collar and cuffs, and bow on bodice, black lace mitts, and brooch at collar. Vertical architectural molding on wall in left background.
Oval mat. Gilt and gesso frame: Inner frame is oval, outer frame is serpentine oblong with floral and foliate scroll decoration at corners. (Frame is identical to frames for 1977.05.01, 1977.05.03-04)
Leloir, Heloise (nee Colin) (b. 1820 Paris - d. 1873 Paris)
Small oval portrait of Eliza Fremineau Chastelain (daughter of Monsieur Fremineau, 1977.05.01). Waist view, seated, facing three quarters to the right. Hair is parted with curls at sides. Wears untied blue bonnet, long sleeved black dress with white lace collar and cuffs, and bow at waist. Holds white gloves. Chair has scrolled arms, backswept scrolled crest and is upholstered in red. Vertical scrolled architectural detail in right background. Oval mat. Gilt and gesso frame: Inner frame is oval, outer frame is serpentine oblong with floral and foliate scroll decoration at corners. (Frame is identical to frames for 1977.05.01-02, and 1977.05.04)
Leloir, Heloise (nee Colin) (b.1820 Paris-d.1873 Paris)
Small oval portrait bust of unidentified young woman, facing three quarters to left. Wide spaced almond shaped eyes, black curled hair parted in center and drawn up, with ornamental comb containing two rows of red beads. Wears pink v-neck dress over white 3-layered ruffled collar. Oval mat. Gilt and gesso frame: Inner frame is oval, outer frame is serpentine oblong with floral and foliate scroll decoration at corners. (Frame is identical to frames for 1977.05.01-03)
A melancholy Lydia Ann Moore, aged 33, is the subject of this portrait painted by Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904). Heade executed other commissions for this Trenton family, painting Lydia's husband Charles, and his brother Imlah, who together operated a flour, grain, and oil factory under the name, I. & C. Moore.
Born in Lumbersville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Heade is best known for his paintings of tropical birds and flowers. These subjects he studied directly while on painting expeditions to South America, and West Indies, British Columbia, California and Florida during the 1860s and 1870s. In 1885 this peripatetic artist, naturalist and sometime poet settled in St. Augustine, Florida where he lived the last two decades of his life.
Joseph Biays Ord (1805-1865), son of the noted Philadelphia ornithologist and Athenaeum founder George Ord, was a portrait, still life and religious painter, as well as a picture restorer. Specializing in still life painting from 1838 to 1862, Ord became known for his fruit pictures.
In these dynamic compositions he uses a variety of sizes, colors and textures to express the passage of time. In this example, age spots appear on the apples, a partly peeled orange waits to be eaten, an empty almond shell lies on the table. The dishes which hold the fruit are typical examples of the fine ceramics which Ord uses in his pictures.
Bust of Napoleon Bonaparte, with head facing forward, in the Imperial Roman portrait form. 1,200 versions of this official bust (Napoleon's favorite, based on Antoine-Denis Chaudet's 1799 modeling) were carved at Carrara, Italy.
This late 19th-century bronze statuette represents a fusilier in Napoleon's army. Armed with musket and bayonet, the well-equipped soldier wears a tall bearskin hat which is fitted at the front with an eagle badge, and decorated with plume, pom poms, and braided cord. The belt which crosses over the subject's shoulders holds his sword and a cartridge box, which also bears a Napoleonic eagle. Buttoned gaiters, worn to protect the soldier on the march, cover the fusilier's shoes and reach mid thigh. The long skirt of the subject's coat is folded back and hooked up to allow better mobility. Born in Tricesimo, Italy, Luca Madrassi (fl. 1869-1914) studied at "L'Ecole des Beaux-Arts" in Paris. In addition to his realistic military sculpture, Madrassi was a master of the fantastic, modeling such allegorical subjects as fairies, cupids, satyrs and genies. Madrassi exhibited at the Paris Salon and was a member of the "Artistes Francais." Statuette has serpentine-shaped green and white marble base.
This late 19th-century bronze statuette represents a fusilier (infantryman) in Napoleon's army. Armed with musket and bayonet, the well-equipped soldier wears a tall bearskin hat which is fitted at the front with an eagle badge, and decorated with plume, pom poms, and braided cord. The belt which crosses over the subject's shoulders holds his sword and a cartridge box, which also bears a Napoleonic eagle. Buttoned gaiters, worn to protect the soldier on the march, cover the fusilier's shoes and reach mid thigh. The long skirt of the subject's coat is folded back and hooked up to allow better mobility. Born in Italy, Luca Madrassi (fl. 1869-1914) studied at L'Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In addition to his realistic military sculpture, Madrassi was a master of the fantastic, modeling such allegorical subjects as fairies, cupids, satyrs and genies.
The lines of this portrait are actually calligraphy which tells the life story of Winfield Scott.
These elegant fruit baskets are examples of French porcelain imported into the United States in the first half of the nineteenth century. The baskets, decorated with bands of green glaze and gilt, have caryatid supports of bisque porcelain. These kneeling winged winged figures are attached to the base and baskets by bolts inserted through a hole in the body of the piece and secured with screws. This technological innovation in ceramics manufacture, based on the technique used by French silversmith Jean-Baptiste-Claude Odiot (1763-1850), permitted more efficient assembly and greater flexibility of design.
A bronze equestrian statuette representing a "chasseur a cheval," a French cavalry soldier of the Napoleonic era. Faces left. Soldier is depicted wearing a short fur hat with plume; a coat with fur collar, cuffs and braided front with four rows of buttons; and boots with spurs. Hanging from the belt around the soldier's waist is a sword and cartridge box with an eagle badge. The horse is represented carrying the soldier's blanket roll. The statuette rests on an oval wooden base, which is painted black. Born in Paris of Russian parents, Pierre Nicolas Tourgueneff (1854-1912) specialized in portrait and equestrian sculpture. He exhibited at the Paris Salon from 1880 to 1911, four times receiving honorable mentions and the Grand Prize at the Universal Exposition of 1889. This cast bronze statue portrays a "chasseur a cheval," a French cavalry soldier of the Napoleonic era. Tourgueneff's realistic modeling of the uniformed soldier and horse reflects more than an artistic interest in his subject. He was a member of the Legion of Honor, achieving the rank of "Chevalier" in 1903, after twenty years of active service. The Legion of Honor, instituted by Napoleon in 1802, is France's highest honor for citizens of military or civil distinction.
A bronze equestrian statuette representing a "chasseur à cheval," a French cavalry soldier of the Napoleonic era. Faces left. Soldier is depicted wearing a short fur hat with plume; a coat with fur collar, cuffs and braided front with four rows of buttons; and boots with spurs. Hanging from the belt around the soldier's waist is a sword and cartridge box with an eagle badge. The horse carries the soldier's blanket roll. The statuette rests on an oval wooden base, which is painted black. Born in Paris of Russian parents, Pierre Nicolas Tourgueneff (1854-1912) specialized in portrait and equestrian sculpture. He exhibited at the Paris Salon from 1880 to 1911, four times receiving honorable mentions and the Grand Prize at the Universal Exposition of 1889. Tourgueneff's realistic modeling of this uniformed soldier and horse reflects more than an artistic interest in his subject. He was a member of the Legion of Honor, achieving the rank of "Chevalier" in 1903, after twenty years of active service. The Legion of Honor, instituted by Napoleon in 1802, is France's highest honor for citizens of military or civil distinction.
Porcelain urn with two handles. Made in France. Handles are molded, with shell and medallions at top, terminated by acanthus leaves. Piece is overall gilt, except thin bands left white at base neck and outer lip. Overglaze polychrome enamel painting on obverse; burnished floral motif on reverse. Clear glaze on inside of urn. Upper and lower portions of urn made in two pieces and bolted together below the painted panel. (This is different from the construction of other, similar pieces which are bolted together at the base of the urn and the top of the pedestal). The painted scene shows a young man leaning down to offer water from a spring pipe to a young lady leaning on the rocks. Both are dressed in classical garb, he in purple and she in yellow.
Glazed white porcelain bowl with overglaze polychrome decoration. Rim painted black with polychrome flowers (including roses, tulips, daisies, pansies, etc.) and gilt stylized leaves. Double rimmed base with narrow gilt band around outer base. Family tradition believes that this bowl was owned by Joseph Bonaparte. (Matching dinnerware is 1983.06.01-19.)
Piece of curtain said to be from Point Breeze, Joseph Bonaparte's home near Bordentown, New Jersey. On paper which was pinned to curtains: "Piece of Madame Joseph Bonaparte's curtains." Background is beige with raised vertical stripes of alternating solid and broken bars. Embroidered with heavy silk threads (rose, pink, beige, yellow, black and green) in main design of clusters of assorted flowers. This is bordered by an embroidered vertical pattern of alternating discs and petals in shades of gold, brown and pink. This scrap of fabric was preserved by the Bordentown Library as a souvenier taken when the furnishings of "Point Breeze" were sold at public auction in 1847.
Piece of curtain said to be from Point Breeze, Joseph Bonaparte's home near Bordentown, New Jersey. On paper which was pinned to curtains: "Piece of Madame Joseph Bonaparte's curtains." Textured beige background with raised vertical stripes. Small embroidered design of flowers. This scrap of fabric was preserved by the Bordentown Library as a souvenier taken when the furnishings of "Point Breeze" were sold at public auction in 1847.
Oval pencil sketch (landscape) by Charlotte Bonaparte (1802-1839), daughter of Joseph Bonaparte. Signed "C. 1823" and inscribed: "20 Juillet 1833 / un Souvenir / de Joseph Bonaparte / a son ami Short / Peintre par/ Charlotte [?] fi." Also a later inscription: "20th July 1833, A Souvenir / of Joseph Bonaparte / to his friend Wm. Short / Drawn by my daughter / Charlotte. / C.W.S. / Jan. 1850." Set into a rectangular wooden frame 6 1/2" x 5 1/2".
John Sartain was born in London, apprenticed as an engraver to John Swaine (1823-30). In 1830 he married and emigrated to Philadelphia. He was successful as an engraver but not as a publisher (a couple of cultural journals were ill-fated). He was Vice President of Philadelphia School of Design for Women (later Moore College of Art), Freemason; Artists Fund Society; Society of St. George; Director of P.A.F.A.; and a Freeman of London. During the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia he was chief of the Bureau of Art.
Russell Smith (1812-1896) was born in Glasgow, Scotland and came to the U.S. in 1819 and later studied art with James R. Lambdin. His diversified career included work as a scene painter, landscape painter and scientific draughtsman. He was a regular contributor at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA).
Hollow painted plaster cast of an unidentified bearded man, executed in the classical manner with the head at a slight turn to the right. The man's wavy hair brushes the tops of his ears; he has a neatly trimmed full beard and no mustache. Incised below the left shoulder: Chs Bullett 1855. French-born sculptor and stoneworker Charles Bullett (1820-1873) studied at L'Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris before moving to New York City in 1848, and then to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1850. He earned widespread acclaim for his sculpture, and served as the principal of the sculpture department during the building of the capitol in Columbus. He eventually settled in Louisville, Kentucky, where he helped establish the Muldoon Monument Company, a marble cutting firm highly regarded for its work throughout Kentucky and the American South. Bullett supervised the production of monuments in the firm’s workshop in Carrara, Italy, until he died in 1873.
Round portrait panel painting of St. Catherine of Alexandria. Her right hand rests on a wheel, referring to her death. She holds the palm of martyrdom in her left hand. According to Hopkinson family tradition, this unsigned, late Renaissance painting of St. Catherine of Alexandria was given to Mrs. Joseph Hopkinson by Joseph Bonaparte prior to his departure from "Point Breeze." It descended to Miss Emily G. Hopkinson from whom the donor acquired it for presentation to the Athenæum. During the early 19th century such "primitive" works were popular with collectors such as Joseph Bonaparte's uncle, Cardinal Fesch, from whom Joseph acquired several of his paintings.
This handsome chair descended through the family of its maker, French émigré cabinetmaker Michel Bouvier (1792-1874). The chair is unusual for its slip-in upholstered scrolled back and scrolled arms which terminate in carved eagle heads. The arms have the horizontal forward thrust of earlier French models and show the slight curve which was then coming into vogue. The legs mark the reintroduction of the cabriole form. The chair was restored and reupholstered in black horsehair--a popular upholstery material in the nineteenth century--as suggested by surviving fragments discovered under later upholstery.
Several pieces of this white porcelain dinner service with overglaze of polychrome decoration have survived with a tradition that they were acquired at the "Point Breeze" sale. They are of the correct period and of a handsome and serviceable type that might have been regularly used in such a house. (Matching bowl is 1979.15.01.)
Thomas Ustick Walter is widely recognized as the leading American architect of the mid-nineteenth century. Born in Philadelphia, Walter's many buildings here include Moyamensing Prison, Girard College, Andalusia and Portico Row. He is best remembered as the architect of the dome and wings of the United States Capitol-the most symbolically important and controversial building in the United States. Late in life he made major contributions to the design and decoration of the Philadelphia City Hall. This portrait of the architect shows him at the start of his prolific career. Behind him are visible a fluted column at Girard College and a distant view of the Philadelphia County Prison at Moyamensing. Both were under construction when the portrait was completed. A receipt in the amount of $180 for painting “Portraits of wife & self” survives in the Architect’s papers at the Athenæum.
Mary Ann Walter (1806-1847) was born in Philadelphia, the daughter of Robert and Marian Hancocks. She married Thomas Ustick Walter in 1824 and died following the birth of their eleventh child. According to her husband, “she was a lady of estimable qualities of mind, and of genial and engaging manners, fulfilling her duties to society with exactness, and propriety, and to her family with tenderness and love. She managed well the affairs of her household and, and trained her children with prudence and affection.”
Amanda Gardiner Walter (1821-1892) was born in Delaware County, PA, the daughter of Richard and Hannah Gardiner. She married Thomas Ustick Walter in 1848, bore two children by him and raised six of his children by his first wife.
The German-born historical painter Emanuel Leutze (1816-1868) is best known for his “Washington Crossing the Delaware ” (1850). Walter records in his diary (preserved at the Athenæum) on April 1, 1852, “Worked at plans of Washington…Took Mrs. W & children to Capitol to see Leutze’s picture…Dined at the Presidents with Mrs. Walter."
Bas-relief of medallion of Napoleon Bonaparte by Boizot. Original in the collection of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Painted gold. Signed and dated.
With experience restoring Renaissance works at the Vatican in Rome, Brumidi came to the U. S. Capitol project in 1855 where he executed the very first frescoes in America for a House Committee meeting room. The Apotheosis of Washington was completed in January 1866.
Miniature portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte
Miniature oval portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte, in black frame. Signed "by Mrs. Plantou" on lower left face of front.
Oval miniature portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte standing in front of a red chair, in black frame, signed "Reney" on lower right face of front.
Edwin Forrest Durang (1829-1911) was born into a prestigious family of professional actors and performers. His grandfather, John Durang, was credited with being the first native-born American actor; his father and uncle, Charles and Richard Durang were the first to perform the "Star Spangled Banner."
Edwin F. Durang was listed in the Philadelphia city directories as an architect by 1855. He specialized in ecclesiastical design, most notably those churches and institutions associated with the Catholic Church.
This portrait of Daniel Webster (1782-1852) by Chester Harding (1792-1866) is based on two daguerreotypes taken in 1850-52. Webster's second wife, Caroline LeRoy, had one of them in her New York apartment until the end of her life, calling it the most satisfactory likeness of her husband.
Other examples of this portrait are at Springfield Museum of Fine Arts and the Cincinnati Art Museum.
Chandler, Theophilus Parsons, Jr. (1845-1928), Self Portrait
The importance of T.P. Chandler to the architectural profession in late nineteenth-century Philadelphia cannot be overestimated. Not only as a conveyor of high-style design, often based on European models, but also as the founder of the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Architecture, Chandler substantially affected the architectural climate in Philadelphia and raised the role of architect to new heights of professionalism. Born in Boston, MA, and educated first in the Brookline schools, Chandler spent his freshman year at Harvard University and later studied at the Atelier Vaudremer in Paris. After returning to the United States, Chandler worked in several Boston offices. In 1872, with the persuasion of landscape architect Robert Copeland, then involved in the development of Ridley Park, Chandler came to Philadelphia and opened an office at 705 Sansom Street. While moving to Philadelphia enabled Chandler to capitalize on Copeland's activities in Ridley Park, it also reinforced Chandler's ties to his mother's family, the Schlatters, with grandfather William Schlatter, one of the founders of the Church of the New Jerusalem in Philadelphia, and to the DuPont family in Wilmington, DE, with whom the Schlatters had strong financial ties. Thus, with the Chandlers of New England behind him, and strong professional and familial ties in the Philadelphia and Delaware region, Chandler was successfully launched on an active architectural career. His first commissions reflect his ties to the development of Ridley Park (the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad Station on Sellers Ave., the William Smythe residence, and the Ridley Park store on Hinckley Ave.), but by 1874 he was already engaged on commissions for the DuPont family in Delaware. In addition, by 1878, Chandler had been installed as Godey's in house architect and was publishing cottage designs in Godey's Lady's Book. Throughout his career Chandler designed a number of residences, but he became chiefly known as an ecclesiastical architect, with such major churches as the Church of the New Jerusalem at 22nd & Chestnut streets in Philadelphia, Calvary Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., and the First Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, PA, to his credit.
Chandler served as president of the Philadelphia Chapter of the AlA; he was also an early member of the national organization and received fellowship status in 1886. During the 1880s Chandler served on the Board of Trustees of the Spring Garden Institute, and, along with John Deery, judged their student exhibits of architectural drawings. His commitment to architectural education was to have even greater impact on Philadelphia's professional community in the 1890s, however, since during this time he successfully worked for the organization of the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Architecture, then part of the Towne Scientific School. He served as the Department's executive head for the school year 1890/91, but then he persuaded Warren P. Laird to move to Philadelphia in order to assume the headship. Chandler was extremely active in the general Philadelphia community as well, holding memberships in the Union League, the Philadelphia Club, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Radnor Hunt Club. In addition he was a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants and the Sons of the Revolution.
Handwritten on back: Professor Wm B Rodgers/President School Technology/Boston
French bronze statue of Mercury as patron god of medicine and healing, on a round Italian marble base and bronze plinth. Mercury carries the caduceus (a staff entwined by two snakes) and wears winged sandals and a petasus (winged cap); stands balanced on one foot upon a column of air emanating from wind god Aeolus. Probably a 19th-century copy after Jean de Bologne, 1564.
Isaiah Lukens (1779-1846) was best known in his own day as a maker of town clocks, but his mechanical genius led him also into the manufacture of machine tools, mathematical and surgical instruments. His father made clocks (see example on first floor) and the son made the towering clock at the Athenaeum (Busch Reading Room).
This portrait descended in the family of Franklin Williams along with a number of other Lukens items later donated by his widow in his memory. Charles Willson Peale is known to have painted Lukens (1816; Franklin Institute), but the Peale experts are not in agreement about which Peale did this painting; all agree it is a member of the family.
Mr. Busch (1873-1942) was President of the Welcome Society at the time Pennsbury Manor was reconstructed, thus the reason the artist included that house in the background.
The Athenaeum reading room is named in Mr. Busch's honor. It was dedicated on April 6, 1992, by Mrs. deHellebranth--member of the Athenaeum board of directors, Mr. Busch's daughter, and the donor of the renovation funds.
The Philadelphian Robert Cornelius (1805-1893), son of the silversmith Christian Cornelius, was a pioneer daguerreotypist and successful lighting manufacturer. The Athenaeum owns photographs by Cornelius, and original lighting fixtures for the Athenaeum were designed by Cornelius and Company. Cornelius is depicted here in an idealized classical Greek manner, his gaze turned slightly to his right, and wearing a loosely draped garment gathered around his shoulders. This bust descended in the Cornelius family and was given to the Athenaeum in 1992 by John C. Cornelius, III, Robert Cornelius' great grandson.
Plaster portrait bust of R. Swain Gifford. The subject gazes straight ahead toward the viewer. Surface patina accentuates the texture of the subject’s short cropped hair and full beard. “RS GIFFORD” is incised on the bottom front of the bust. Robert Swain Gifford (1840 – 1905) was an American painter and printmaker. He spent much of his youth in the coastal areas of Massachusetts and Connecticut, where he developed an affinity for New England land- and seascapes. In 1866, he settled in New York City, where he taught art for nearly thirty years at the Cooper Union School, and helped establish the New York Etching Club. He won medals at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition and numerous other venues. His work is represented in a number of institutions, including the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. William Rudolf O'Donovan (1844 – 1920) was a successful self-taught sculptor. Born in Virginia, he served in the Confederate Army. After the Civil War, he opened a studio in New York City and began his career as a well-regarded professional sculptor, producing many public monuments as well as portrait busts and bas reliefs of prominent persons, including Walt Whitman, Thomas Eakins, and George Washington.
George Vaux (1908-1996) became a member of the Athenaeum in 1947 and was elected President of the Board of Directors in 1965 a position he held until a few months prior to his death in 1996. During the Vaux administration, the Athenaeum building was restored, expanded, the institution given new direction as a special collections library with museum collections. This portrait was presented to the Athenaeum at the 178th Annual Meeting in April, 1993.
Plaster portrait bust of Georges Cuvier, depicted with long sideburns, and short wavy hair forming a v-shaped widow's peak on the forehead. Inscribed along bottom front: G. CUVIER. Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier (1769 - 1832), known as Baron Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist widely admired for his research and publications on zoology and paleontology. Cuvier was a major figure in natural sciences research in the early 19th century and was instrumental in establishing the fields of comparative anatomy and paleontology through his work in comparing living animals with fossils. He was perpetual secretary of the National Institute and as a public official was connected with public education generally. In 1808 he was placed by Napoleon upon the Council of the Imperial University. The Athenaeum of Philadelphia holds books by Cuvier on the subjects of zoology, geology, and paleontology in its Rare Book Collection.
Plaster portrait bust of Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) by Jean Antoine Houdon, after an original from 1778. Benjamin Franklin, American Founding Father, writer, printer, postmaster, scientist, inventor, statesman, and diplomat, known for his wit and humor, is depicted here with shoulder-length hair and a plain suit coat, buttoned vest and simple cravat. French sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon was well known for portrait busts of public figures of the late 18th century. Houdon sculpted Benjamin Franklin’s likeness during Franklin’s tenure as American minister to France from 1776 to 1785. While only two marble versions of the bust are known to exist (one at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the other at the Metropolitan Museum of Art), Houdon also produced plaster versions such as this one in response to the public’s fascination with the popular American statesman.
Jean Antoine Houdon, after an original from 1778
Cast bronze portrait bust on wood base of Dr. Charles Wharton Stork (1881-1971) by his son Francis Wharton Stork. Dr. Stork was a Philadelphia-born poet, playwright, literary critic, editor, and educator. He served on the board of directors of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia for forty-nine years, from 1919 to 1968. This portrait bust was given to the Athenaeum by the sculptor after he and his brother and sister created the Charles Wharton Stork lecture endowment at the Athenaeum.
Old Paris porcelain chocolate set, white with gold drapery decoration, France, c. 1830, consisting of one 9" plate; five 2 3/4" straight-side cups; five 2 1/4" round-sided cups; four 4 3/4" saucers; three 5" saucers. According to family tradition, this set was a gift from Joseph Bonaparte, former King of Spain, elder brother of Napoleon I.
Oval miniature three quarter length portrait of Napoleon I, signed Lemaitre, French, 19th century. Ivory backed with vellum; set in oval gilt brass easel frame with glass cover.
Circular ivory box with miniature portrait of Napoleon I inset in lid, held in place by tooled brass and glass cover; French, 19th century.
Plaster maquette (small scale model) of the final version for the 37-foot high, 27-ton bronze figure of William Penn (1644 - 1718) atop Philadelphia's City Hall, by Alexander Milne Calder (Scottish-American, 1846-1923). English colonist William Penn, a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), founded the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The full length figure of Penn wears colonial garb, with his right hand extended gracefully, and a copy of the Charter of Pennsylvania in his left hand.
King Alexander and the Stag (Also known as Alexander III, King of Scotland, rescued from the Fury of a Stag by the Intrepidity of Colin Fitzgerald; The Stag Hunt)
Charles Robert Leslie (1794-1859), who lived in Philadelphia and studied under Benjamin West (1738-1820) in England, copied West's painting Alexander III, King of Scotland, rescued from the Fury of a Stag by the Intrepidity of Colin Fitzgerald. [The West original hangs in the National Gallery of Scotland.]
Leslie presented this painting to his benefactor, Charles Nicoll Bancker (1776-1869), an early Athenaeum member, and it later came to the society from Mr. John Cadwalader who had inherited the painting.
Leslie, Charles Robert (After Benjamin West)
Cast bronze portrait bust of Charles Garnier (1825-1898). Sculptural details such as Garnier’s unkempt curly hair and his disheveled clothing are indicative of sculptor Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux’s skill at infusing his works with spontaneity and naturalism. Architect Charles Garnier won the Paris Opera commission in 1861 over a field of nearly 200 contestants. Garnier and Carpeaux were friends, and Carpeaux executed many sculptural works for Garnier's finest building, the Opera. A version of this portrait bust greets visitors as they climb the grand stair of the Opera, and there is a third casting at the Louvre in Paris. Carpeaux was the most successful French sculptor of the mid-19th Century; he was widely recognized as the official sculptor of the Second French Empire.
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux. Foundry mark: E. Gruet Jeune Fondeur
Roberts Vaux (1786-1836) was a successful Philadelphia businessman, politician and philanthropist. He was a moving force among Philadelphia Quakers behind the change of penology, inventing the concept of correctional institutions. He was a founder and early director (first Treasurer) of the Athenæum.
Joseph Bonaparte's toiletry kit and leather case
Leather-covered toiletry case with silver plaque engraved "Legs du roi Joseph Napoleon a Adolph Mailliard." Hinged lid of case lined with red velvet contain 4 scissors (stamped Macdaniels, Oxford St.), nail file, 2 razors (stamped Joseph Rodgers & Sons, Liverpool), pocket knife, corkscrew, 2 button hooks (?); lower half of case lined with red leather and sub-divided to hold 6 glass jars with silver lids (engraved with crown and shield with eagle and several hallmarks), shaving brush; 2 ivory-handled toothbrushes, leather strop, and 2 indeterminate tools; hand mirror contained in removable velvet lined sleeve.
Miniature replica of the marble slab adorning Joseph Bonaparte's tomb
Black-leather-covered box with hinged lid and two latches, interior lined with purple velvet and satin. Box contains miniature replica of the marble slab adorning the tomb of Joseph Napoleon Bonaparte (1768-1844) consisting of rectangular red marble slab inset with black stone slab bordered with yellow marble; center black slab in inset with words "Joseph Napoleo Bonaparte In Pace" in gold lettering; top surface and sides of slab are polished.
Medal with low relief figure of Napoleon
Round medal with low relief figure of emperor Napoleon baptizing a baby commemorating "Baptem Du Roi de Rome, MDCCCXI." Smaller writing "Andrieu Fecit (?)." Other side of medal has a relief profile of the emperor Napoleon's Head. "Bronze" stamped on edge of medal.
Medal embossed with right profile of Napoleon
Round medal with two decorated faces; embossed right profile of Napoleon, "Premier consul de la republique Fran. Bonaparte." Written on Napoleon's shoulder "Andrieu F."; Opposite side depicts a woman and reads "Paix de luneville, lexx pluviose an IX."
Charles Vezin was extremely influential in the development of chess in Philadelphia. He came to the United States from France in 1813; and for over twenty years, Vezin conducted an informal chess "school" with his friend Henry Vethake, a chess prodigy. The school was held in the Athenaeum of Philadelphia and produced many talented chess players. Students of Charles Vezin were sometimes known as "Men of the Athenaeum." Charles Vezin became a stockholder of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia in 1815. He was an ancestor of the donor.
Philadelphia-born church architect Charles M. Burns was the son of Charles M. and Eliza Van Dyke (Rousseau) Burns. Although he entered the University of Pennsylvania in the Class of 1859 as a second-semester freshman, his academic career was finished by the end of his junior year when he volunteered for Civil War action. By 1862 Burns was in battle at Mobile, AL with Admiral Farragut; he would return with Farragut to New Orleans in 1864. Therefore, although city directory listings for Burns commence in 1863, it is doubtful that Burns would have returned to Philadelphia before 1865. Once he did return to Philadelphia, he launched a distinguished architectural career, with a specialty in ecclesiastic buildings, especially Protestant Episcopal churches.
While managing a steadily growing practice, Burns still attempted to further his own education by enrolling at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1876. His own talents were soon recognized, however; and by 1879 he had left off his own student activities in order to become a member of the faculty of the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art, with responsibility for "Theory and Practice of Freehand Drawing and Design." According to artist Joseph Pennell, who attended Burns's class and wrote a memorial article (really more a diatribe against Philadelphia) after Burns's death, "If he found that you could accept [his criticism], his interest in you was endless and tireless. But if you did not, the heavy black eyebrows and bristling black mustache, with the flaming red necktie underneath, passed you by -- and that was worse than anything." After this stint at the PMSI, Burns would continue as instructor of drawing at Haverford College through 1885.
Burns was among the first group of architects proposed for membership in the Philadelphia Chapter of the AIA in 1870 and later served as treasurer for the group. Widely known as a portrait painter of some distinction and as a watercolorist, he exhibited at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876; and his architectural drawings appeared in exhibitions at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1887, 1888, 1890, 1892 and 1894. After his retirement to Camden, NJ, Burns passed some of his ecclesiastical work along to Henry Macomb.
On 21 April 1870 Burns was elected an associate member of the AIA, but his membership "lapsed" in October 1875, according to the bulletin published for the 17th Annual Convention of the AIA (1883).
Henry Bird (1803-1864), served as Secretary and sixth Librarian of The Athenaeum of Philadelphia from 1859 until his death in 1864. He was the husband of Eleanor Blaney Bird (1806-1888).
Eleanor Blaney Bird (1806-1888) was the wife of Henry Bird (1803-1864) sixth Librarian of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia.
Walter, Mary Ann Elizabeth Hancocks (1806-1847)
Miniature portrait of Mrs. Ann Elizabeth Hancocks Walter, first wife of the great American architect Thomas Ustick Walter. In presentation frame: "Presented by Mrs. T.U. Walter to her husband, June 28th, 1838" inscribed in gold plaque, reverse.
Son of Richard H. Day, Charles A. Day graduated from Germantown Academy before entering the University of Pennsylvania's program in Engineering. In 1899 he obtained a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, followed by the M.S. in 1903. Even before graduation he was employed at the Link-Belt Engineering Co. in Nicetown, an operation headed by John Mapes Dodge, father of his friend from Germantown Academy days Kern Dodge. After Kern Dodge graduated from Drexel Institute in 1901, the two established Dodge & Day, engineers; but after a transition with Dodge, Day & Zimmermann, Kern Dodge withdrew from this enterprise in 1912, and Charles Day continued with the succeeding firm of Day & Zimmermann.
Charles Day both wrote and lectured on engineering practice. His book Industrial Plants: Their Arrangement and Construction, published by Engineering Magazine as a monograph in 1911, actually grew out of a series of lectures for Harvard University's Graduate School of Business Administration.
During World War I Day also served on the U. S. Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation and became a member of the Army War Council.
Extract of the Register of the Judgements and Proceedings of the Town of the City of Nevers. Marriage of Napoleon and Marie-Louise of Austria.
Country landscape with small house in right middleground.
Comegys Paul was a shareholder of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia (share certificate #364 - December 19, 1820)
Blanche Wendell Woodward (d. 1895) was married to Dr. Joseph Janvier Woodward (1833-1884), the Civil War surgeon who participated in the autopsies of Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth and attended President Garfield. Woodward was a shareholder in the Athenaeum from 1839-1879.
Lydia Leaming, the daughter of Thomas Leaming and Rebecca Fisher, was born in Philadelphia in 1789. In 1806, Lydia’s mother commissioned artist Thomas Sully to paint a portrait of her 17 year old daughter.
Lydia Leaming, the daughter of Thomas Leaming and Rebecca Fisher, was born in Philadelphia in 1789. In 1808, Lydia married James Somers Smith, a prominent Philadelphia attorney who served on the Board of Directors of the Athenaeum from 1826 to 1831. The couple had six children and it was at some point well into their marriage, that Henry Inman was commissioned to paint his portrait of Lydia Leaming Smith.
Anne Hawks Vaux (1913-1978) was closely associated with the Athenaeum for many years. Her husband, George Vaux, served as President of the Board of Directors from 1965 to 1996. The Vaux family’s Athenaeum connections date back to the institution’s founding: lawyer and abolitionist Roberts Vaux held Share #3 from 1814 to 1836.
Napoleon I in his imperial robes on the occasion of his coronation.
After a painting by Francois Gerard, 1805
The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries
A copy of the famous French painting by Jacques-Louis David, 1812
Napoléon Empereur des Français, né le 15 août 1769
Portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte in military uniform.