Artist in Exile, The Visual Diary of Baroness Hyde de Neuville: In 1818, she stated that she had but one wish “and that was to see an American lady elected president"
The New-York Historical Society introduces visitors to a little-known artist whose work documented the people and scenes of early America.
Artist in Exile: The Visual Diary of Baroness Hyde de Neuville, on view through January 26, 2020 in the Joyce B. Cowin Women’s History Gallery presents 114 watercolors and drawings by Anne Marguérite Joséphine Henriette Rouillé de Marigny, Baroness Hyde de Neuville (1771–1849).
Self-taught and ahead of her time, Neuville’s art celebrates the young country’s history, culture, and diverse population, ranging from Indigenous Americans to political leaders. Curated by Dr. Roberta J.M. Olson, curator of drawings at New-York Historical, this exhibition is the first serious exploration of Neuville’s life and art — showcasing many recently discovered works including rare depictions of European scenes and people at work, a lifelong sociological interest — and is accompanied by a scholarly catalogue.
Right: Anne Marguérite Joséphine Henriette Rouillé de Marigny, Baroness Hyde de Neuville (1771–1849); Peter of Buffalo, Tonawanda, New York, 1807. Watercolor, graphite, black chalk, and brown and black ink with touches of gouache on paper, New-York Historical Society
“Baroness Hyde de Neuville’s status as a woman, an outsider, and a refugee shaped her view of America and Americans, making her a particularly keen and sympathetic observer of individuals from a range of socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds,” said Dr. Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of the New-York Historical Society. “Neuville could never have envisioned that her visual diary — created as a personal record of her travels and observations of early America — would become an invaluable historical document of the early republic. Yet her drawings vividly evoke the national optimism and rapid expansion of the young United States and capture the diversity of its inhabitants.”
Born to an aristocratic family in Sancerre, France, Henriette married ardent royalist Jean Guillaume Hyde de Neuville, who became involved during the French Revolution in conspiracies to reinstate the Bourbon monarchy and was accused of participating in a plot to assassinate Napoleon. In an effort to disprove the charges against her husband, the baroness took her cause directly to Napoleon, who was impressed with her courage and allowed the couple to go into exile. They arrived in New York in 1807 and stayed for seven years. During their second American residency (1816–22), when her husband served as French Minister Plenipotentiary in Washington, DC, Henriette became a celebrated hostess. John Quincy Adams described her in his diary as “a woman of excellent temper, amiable disposition… profuse charity, yet judicious economy and sound discretion.” In 1818, she presciently stated that she had but one wish “and that was to see an American lady elected president.”
Artist in Exile follows Neuville’s life, reconstructing her artistic education and tracing her artistic practice, which included portraiture, landscapes and cityscapes, ethnographic studies, botanical art, and other genres. Highlights of the exhibition include Neuville’s views of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers, street scenes of her neighborhood (now known as Tribeca), a watercolor documenting an “Indian War Dance” performed for President Monroe, and portraits of subjects ranging from Indigenous Americans to immigrant students at a Manhattan school founded by the Neuvilles. The exhibition opens with Neuville’s miniature self-portrait (ca. 1800-1810) that was likely created for her husband to carry on his travels. Pictured wearing a fashionable daytime empire-waist dress over a chemisette, fingerless mitts, and hoop earrings, the baroness looks away, not engaging the viewer as is customary with self-portraits that are drawn using a mirror because she based it on another study.
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