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Preview image of work. oil on canvas,  Portrait of Sarah Bowdoin 12289
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2000.6

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Portrait of Sarah Bowdoin

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Artist

Louis-Léopold Boilly (La Bassée, France, 7/5/1761 - 1/4/1845, Paris, France)

Title

Portrait of Sarah Bowdoin

Creation Date

ca. 1806-1808

Century

early 19th century

Dimensions

8 9/16 in. x 6 9/16 in. (21.75 cm x 16.67 cm)

Object Type

painting

Creation Place

Europe, France

Medium and Support

oil on canvas

Credit Line

Gift of Donald, Class of 1956, and Susan Zuckert

Copyright

Public Domain

Accession Number

2000.6

Louis-Léopold Boilly, well known for his genre scenes and portraits of the middle class, created this wistful portrait of Sarah Bowdoin. She sat for her likeness while living in Paris with her husband James Bowdoin III, who was on a diplomatic mission for the Jefferson administration. While in France, Sarah documented the family’s daily life in her diary, now in the College’s George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives. It reveals her active involvement in the couple’s acquisition of fine art and books, collections later bequeathed to the College. After the death of James Bowdoin III in 1811, Sarah married Henry Dearborn, a Revolutionary War veteran and Thomas Jefferson’s secretary of war.

Keywords: Portrait