Lot 619: Louis Bahin Attributed Southern Portrait,

Natchez, Mississippi, ca 1850s. An oil on canvas of a young child with pet squirrel and small dog, standing in a landscape setting, with his straw hat at his feet. In a new gilt frame; 51.75 x 35.5 in.

Louis Joseph Bahin (1813-1857) was born in Armentieres, France; his wife Fanny Josephine Caremantrand was from Mantua, Italy. While residing in Paris they had two sons, Gustave and Alphonse. Also while in Paris, Bahin's portraits were exhibited at the National Museum of the Louvre in 1848 and 1850. The family immigrated to New Orleans, and about 1852 established permanent residence in Natchez, Mississippi. One of the few, French trained, antebellum painters in Natchez, Bahin earned his living painting portraits, however he also painted some landscapes. He died in Natchez, where he is buried, on June 27, 1857.

Relined and new stretchers.

Property of the Western Reserve Historical Society