Lot 477: Attributed to Jacques Guillaume Lucien Amans

Attributed to Jacques Guillaume Lucien Amans (French, 1801-1888, act. New Orleans, 1836-1856), "Portrait of Robert Conway (b. 1813)", c. 1845, oil on canvas, unsigned, 38 in. x 30 in., period gilt frame Provenance: Marie Constance Conway (1922-1854) and the sitter, Robert Conway (b. 1813); their daughter, Marie Constance Conway (b. c. 1850) and Alexander Kirkwood Finlay (1843-1911); their daughter, Laura Gaines Finlay (1886-1982) and James Pierce Butler (1880-1941); their daughter, Ormonde Butler (c. 1905-1989) and Philip Joseph Bayon (1905-1989); thence by descent. Note: According to family tradition, Robert Conway, the second eldest son of Robert Conway and Margaret Sweet, came to New Orleans from Alexandria, Virginia, in 1832. His brothers, John Richard, Thomas, and Colin joined him later, and all four brothers eventually married Louisiana brides. When Robert Conway married Marie Constance Conway in 1847, two prosperous and prestigious families were joined. Although the portraits of Robert and Constance pre-date their wedding, it is not surprising that each would have commissioned a likeness by Amans, the most sought after portraitist in the New Orleans area in the 1840s. This three-quarter length portrait of Robert Conway is remarkably similar to the 1834 portrait of Charles Urquhart by Amans; the right-facing seated pose in the same scroll-arm fauteuil (which can be seen in at least three other portraits by Amans) and the position of Conway’s arms exactly replicate those of Urquhart, although Urquhart holds a book in one hand while Conway does not. Additionally, the proportion, brushwork, and painted details of the clothing and facial features are certainly as fine as those in Amans’ portraits of other New Orleans gentlemen. Ref.: Bruns, Thomas Nelson Carter, Mrs., comp. Louisiana Portraits. New Orleans: The National Society of the Colonial Dames of American in the State of Louisiana, Historical Activities Committee, 1975.