Marquis de Lafayette (Morse)

Painting by Samuel Morse

Marquis de Lafayette

Portrait of Lafayette

Artist| Samuel F. B. Morse
Year| 1825
Medium| Oil on canvas
Dimensions| 66.04 cm × 90.8 cm (26.00 in × 35.7 in)
Location| Crystal Bridges Museum, Bentonville, Arkansas

Marquis de Lafayette (or Portrait of La Fayette) is an oil on canvas painting by Samuel Morse, from 1825. Mostly known for his invention of the telegraph, Morse was also an artist and a professor of painting and sculpture at the University of the City of New York.

## Painting

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The painting is a loose and gestural bust-study rather than a finished work,[1] a sketch for the 1826 full-length portrait of Lafayette that had been commissioned by the City of New York to commemorate Lafayette's role in the American Revolutionary War.[2] The sketch focused on capturing a portrait of Lafayette during his brief visits to New York City from 1824–25. The majority of the painting was done in February 1825.[3]

Morse had great respect for Lafayette, remarking "My feelings were almost too powerful for me... This is the man... who spent his youth, his fortune, and his time, to bring about (under Providence) our happy Revolution; the friend and companion of [George] Washington, terror of tyrants, the firm and consistent supporter of liberty, the man whose beloved name has rung from one end of the continent to the other, whom all flock to see, whom all delight to honor."[4]

## Provenance

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Once his full-length portrait was completed, Morse, having no compelling need for this sketch, gave it to Philip Hone (often called "The Honorable Philip Hone" by contemporaries), the Mayor of New York City. Morse likely gave it to Hone because he was in charge of the commission.[5]

Upon Hone's death, an "Inventory of Paintings, Statuary, Medals, etc, the Property of the Late Philip Hone, to be sold at public auction" was taken, which included this painting.[6] William H. Osborn, a railroad tycoon who was a patron of the arts and had a personal art collection, bought the painting at the April 28, 1852 auction.[7]

Osborn gave the painting to the wealthy James Lenox in 1876. Like the majority of his art collection, the painting was displayed in Lenox's newly built Lenox Library, and was listed in the 1879, 1885, and 1892 catalogues.[8] The 1879 Lenox Library Guide to the Paintings and Sculptures states that the painting was "Presented by William H. Osborn, November, 1876."[9]

A few decades later the painting was donated to the New York Public Library, where it was displayed and periodically loaned out to other museums.[10]

It sold at Sotheby's as lot 1 on November 30, 2005. The Crystal Bridges Museum bought it for US$1,360,000 (equivalent to $2,189,579 in 2024).[11]

## Related works

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Portrait of Marquis de La Lafayette, 1826, oil on canvas, New York City Hall

The full-length portrait for which this work was a sketch is displayed in the City Hall Portrait Collection in New York City Hall.[12]

## Sources

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1. ^ "Lafayette, Morse, and the March of Progress | Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art". crystalbridges.org. 27 April 2014. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
2. ^ "Portrait - Design Commission". www1.nyc.gov. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
3. ^ Lenox Library: A Guide to the Paintings and Sculptures Exhibited to the Public. Printed by Order of the Trustees, 1892. http://arcade.nyarc.org:80/record=b313988~S1 Accessed 30 June 2017
4. ^ "Marquis de Lafayette". collection.crystalbridges.org. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
5. ^ "Collections – New-York Historical Society". emuseum.nyhistory.org. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
6. ^ "Inventory of paintings, statuary, medals of the Property of the late Philip Hone" http://www.worldcat.org/title/inventory-of-paintings-statuary-medals-c-the-property-of-the-late-philip-hone-to-be-sold-at-public-auction-on-wednesday-april-28-1852/oclc/23779071 Accessed 1 July 2017
7. ^ "THE OBITUARY RECORD.; William H. Osborn". The New York Times. 1894-03-05. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
8. ^ Lenox Library: A Guide to the Paintings and Sculptures Exhibited to the Public. Printed by Order of the Trustees, 1885. Print. http://arcade.nyarc.org/search~S1?/Xlenox+library&searchscope=1&SORT=D/Xlenox+library&searchscope=1&SORT=D&SUBKEY=lenox+library/1,245,245,B/frameset&FF=Xlenox+library&searchscope=1&SORT=D&8,8, Accessed 5 July 2017
9. ^ Lenox Library: A Guide to the Paintings and Sculptures Exhibited to the Public. Printed by Order of the Trustees, 1879. Print.http://nyarc-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?vid=01NYARC&search_scope=01NYARC_EVERYTHING&docId=01NYARC_III.b2992929&fn=permalink Accessed 5 July 2017
10. ^ "Samuel F.B. Morse" http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2005/american-paintings-drawings-sculpture-including-property-from-the-new-york-public-library-astor-lenox-and-tilden-foundations-n08134/lot.1.html Accessed 1 July 2017
11. ^ "Samuel F. B. Morse Marquis de Lafayette" http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2005/american-paintings-drawings-sculpture-including-property-from-the-new-york-public-library-astor-lenox-and-tilden-foundations-n08134/lot.1.html Accessed 29 June 2017.
12. ^ "Portrait Collection - Design Commission". www1.nyc.gov. Retrieved 2022-07-22.

* v
* t
* e

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette

Principal author|

* Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789)

American Revolution|

* French frigate Hermione
* Battle of Brandywine
* Battle of Gloucester
* Valley Forge
* Battle of Barren Hill
* Battle of Rhode Island
* Battle of Monmouth
* Battle of Green Spring
* Siege of Yorktown
* Franco-American alliance

French Revolution|

* Assembly of Notables (1787)
* Estates General of 1789
* National Guard (France)
* Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
* Women's March on Versailles
* Society of 1789
* Fête de la Fédération
* Day of Daggers
* Champ de Mars massacre
* War of the First Coalition
* July Revolution (1830)

Other events|

* 1824–25 Grand Tour of the United States
* New York City parade
* Philadelphia parade
* USS Brandywine

Life|

* Château de Chavaniac (birthplace and home)
* Château de la Grange-Bléneau (home and museum)
* Lafayette Land Grant
* Picpus Cemetery

Honors and
memorials|

* List of places named for the Marquis de Lafayette
* Fayetteville, North Carolina
* Lafayette, Louisiana
* Fort Lafayette
* Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania
* Lafayette College
* New York City statue (1876)
* LaFayette Fountain (1887)
* Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C.
* 1891 statue
* Lafayette Square Historic District
* Lafayette dollar (1899)
* Mount Lafayette
* Lafayette Memorial (1917)
* Lafayette College statue (1921)
* Los Angeles statue (1937)
* Lafayette Escadrille
* USS Lafayette

Legacy|

* 1825 Samuel Morse painting
* "Lafayette (We Hear You Calling)" (1918 song)
* La Fayette (1961 film)
* Valley Forge (1975 film)
* La Révolution française (1989 film)
* Jefferson in Paris (1995 film)
* Liberty! (1997 documentary miniseries)
* Liberty's Kids (2002 television series)
* Hamilton (2015 musical, 2020 film)
* Lafayette in the Somewhat United States (2015 book)
* Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution (2021 book)
* Franklin (2024 miniseries)

Family|

* Adrienne de La Fayette (wife)
* Georges Washington de La Fayette (son)
* Michel du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (father)

Related|

* Order of Lafayette
* Honorary U.S. citizenship (2002)

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