January 10, 2014
An important painting with ties to Baltimore is set to be auctioned at Sotheby’s New York Sale of Important Americana on January 25. The painting by Gilbert Stuart was commissioned by Jerome Bonaparte, youngest brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was married to Elizabeth Patterson of Baltimore. Jerome commissioned a painting of Elizabeth (Betsy) at the same time. Coincidentally, the Maryland Historical Society has a current exhibition, “A Woman of Two Worlds”, exploring the life of Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte.
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE EAST COAST COLLECTION
GILBERT STUART (1755 - 1828)
An Unfinished Portrait of Jerome Bonaparte (1784-1860), Youngest Brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of France
Labeled on the reverse: Mr. and Mrs. John B. Hannum and Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Walker, Unionville, Pennsylvania
GILBERT STUART (1755 - 1828)
An Unfinished Portrait of Jerome Bonaparte (1784-1860), Youngest Brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of France
Labeled on the reverse: Mr. and Mrs. John B. Hannum and Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Walker, Unionville, Pennsylvania
Oil on canvas
28¼ by 23½ inches
Painted circa 1804
Estimate $40,000 - $60,000 USD
Lot No. 277
28¼ by 23½ inches
Painted circa 1804
Estimate $40,000 - $60,000 USD
Lot No. 277
Sotheby’s names the painting’s provenance as Carol Harriman Penn Smith Stewart to her daughter, Nancy Penn Smith Hannum to the present owner.
The painting has been exhibited in New York, M. Knoedler & Co., November–November 1936: Baltimore, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland Heritage: Five Baltimore Institutions Celebrate the American Bicentennial, April–June 1976, no. 65, p. 93; New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Washington D.C., National Gallery of Art, Gilbert Stuart, October 2004–July 2005, no. 67, p. 249.
Napoleon Bonaparte’s youngest brother Jerome, an officer in the French military, was smitten by the ambitious Elizabeth Patterson, a Baltimore socialite widely known for her beauty and her risqué fashion tastes. Bonaparte’s courtship was opposed by Elizabeth’s father, the President of the Bank of Baltimore, as well as by Napoleon, who insisted his younger brother find a more advantageous union within the European aristocracy. However, Elizabeth and Jérôme Bonaparte were married on December 24, 1803, at a ceremony presided over by John Carroll, the Archbishop of Baltimore. Betsy furthered her reputation for licentious habillement with her choice of wedding dress.
According to the Maryland Historical Society, Jérôme's brother Napoleon ordered his brother back to France and demanded that the marriage be annulled. Jérôme ignored Napoleon's initial demand that he return to France without his wife.
Shortly thereafter, Jerome commissioned two portraits from Gilbert Stuart, both of which Stuart began to paint in February 1804. Stuart grew impatient with Bonaparte’s repeated attempts to expedite the triple portrait of Mrs. Bonaparte, and finally the two men came to heated words. Following the argument, Stuart refused to work on either portrait. Three months after Stuart began the Bonapartes’ portraits, Napoleon anointed himself Emperor of the French. Jerome and a pregnant Betsy attempted to travel to France in time for his brother's coronation. When they finally arrived, Elizabeth was denied permission to set foot in continental Europe by order of Napoleon. She would never see Jerome again.
Betsy returned to Baltimore with her son, Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, nicknamed "Bo" by his mother, and lived with her father while she continued to flaunt her royal connection and skimpy attire. In 1815, by special Act of the Legislature of Maryland, she secured a divorce. She is buried in the Greenmount Cemetery, Baltimore, Maryland.
According to the Maryland Historical Society, Jérôme's brother Napoleon ordered his brother back to France and demanded that the marriage be annulled. Jérôme ignored Napoleon's initial demand that he return to France without his wife.
Shortly thereafter, Jerome commissioned two portraits from Gilbert Stuart, both of which Stuart began to paint in February 1804. Stuart grew impatient with Bonaparte’s repeated attempts to expedite the triple portrait of Mrs. Bonaparte, and finally the two men came to heated words. Following the argument, Stuart refused to work on either portrait. Three months after Stuart began the Bonapartes’ portraits, Napoleon anointed himself Emperor of the French. Jerome and a pregnant Betsy attempted to travel to France in time for his brother's coronation. When they finally arrived, Elizabeth was denied permission to set foot in continental Europe by order of Napoleon. She would never see Jerome again.
Betsy returned to Baltimore with her son, Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, nicknamed "Bo" by his mother, and lived with her father while she continued to flaunt her royal connection and skimpy attire. In 1815, by special Act of the Legislature of Maryland, she secured a divorce. She is buried in the Greenmount Cemetery, Baltimore, Maryland.
In its unfinished state, Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of Jérôme Bonaparte gives us a rare view into Stuart’s process. Among other insights, the portrait provides a sample of Stuart’s blocking method, his development of tone and color, and his construction of drapery. As an unfinished work, the present lot cleverly exemplifies the volatility for which Stuart was well known. It also demonstrates the masterful Romanticism with which Stuart endowed his works, even in their earliest stages.
Now on view at the Maryland Historical Society is an exhibition based on the controversial socialite and her quest for an imperial legacy, “A Woman of Two Worlds”. The show explores Mrs. Bonaparte’s life with focus on the period after her marriage’s annulment by Napoleon, and her subsequent return to Baltimore. The exhibition will remain through June 9, 2014.
The exhibition includes silver, porcelain, paintings, textiles, jewelry, manuscripts and furniture associated with Elizabeth and her descendants. Of particular note are a collection of extraordinary French porcelain purchased by Elizabeth in Paris around 1815, forty examples of silver used by Elizabeth and her descendents, Elizabeth's pearl and garnet tiara and other jewelry, and one of her "scandalous" dresses in the French-style. In total, more than 100 objects will be on view in the exhibition. http://www.mdhs.org/woman-two-worlds-elizabeth-patterson-bonaparte-and-her-quest-imperial-legacy-exhibition
The unfinished triple portrait by Gilbert Stuart, 1804, of Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte (1785 – 1879):
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte by Gilbert Stuart 1804
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte by Gilbert Stuart 1804
The painting has been exhibited in New York, M. Knoedler & Co., November–November 1936; Baltimore, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland Heritage: Five Baltimore Institutions Celebrate the American Bicentennial, April–June 1976.
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Washington D.C., National Gallery of Art, Gilbert Stuart, October 2004–July 2005, no. 67, p. 249.
- See more at: http://baltimore.citybizlist.com/article/important-painting-jerome-bonaparte-gilbert-stuart-be-auctioned-sotheby’s-january-25-2014#sthash.DUa07H5N.dpuf
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Washington D.C., National Gallery of Art, Gilbert Stuart, October 2004–July 2005, no. 67, p. 249.
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