CHARLES BALTHAZAR JULIEN FEVRET de ST. MEMIN (FRENCH, 1770-1852)

This portrait depicts Andrew Hazlehurst (1781-1819) of Philadelphia. In 1805, he married Frances Purviance and the couple resided in Baltimore. Hazlehurst was the brother-in-law of architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe and assisted him in providing a pianoforte for Dolley Madison at the White House in 1809 (Maud Wilder Goodwin, Dolly Madison (New York, 1911), pp. 133-134). As recorded in the Frick Art Reference Library records, this portrait was owned in the early to mid 20th century by Ambrose Gordon (1892-1978) of Savannah, Georgia.

Born in Dijon, France in 1770, Charles Balthazar Julien Fevret de St. Memin came to the United States arriving in New York City in 1793 to escape the violence of the French Revolution. By 1796, St. Memin had taught himself engraving and learned to draw profile portraits. Working in all the major port cities along the east coast from New York to Charleston, St. Memin completed approximately 900 bust-length profile portraits between 1796 and 1810, including many of the leading American and Native American figures of the day, before returning to France where he spent the rest of his life.