Portrait of Georges Arnold Fitzwilliam

Portrait of Georges Arnold Fitzwilliam by Charles Balthazar Julien Fevret de Saint-Mémin: This portrait and its pair (2024.35.2), depict George Fitzwilliam, an English merchant…

What to notice

In Portrait of Georges Arnold Fitzwilliam, start with classical, portrait, figurative. Then look closely at this museum-described detail: Saint-Mémin used a recently invented mechanical device called a physiognotrace to trace accurate profiles of his sitters, which he then completed in black and white chalks.

Discover

This portrait and its pair (2024.35.2), depict George Fitzwilliam, an English merchant, and his American wife Eleanor Ramsay Fitzwilliam, who sat in New York for the French émigré artist Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin. Saint-Mémin used a recently invented mechanical device called a physiognotrace to trace accurate profiles of his sitters, which he then completed in black and white chalks. The technology enabled Saint-Mémin to establish a thriving business catering to prominent Americans—including…