Women in the 19C United States of America: Louisana paintings by French-born François Bernard (1812

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Louisana paintings by French-born François Bernard (1812–a 1880)

François Bernard (French-born Louisiana painter, 1812–a 1880) Paulina de Graffenried (Mrs. James Belton Pickett) and Sallie Pickett (Mrs. Robert C. Cummings)

Portrait, landscape, & genre painter, Francois Bernard is known in Louisiana primarily for his portraits in oil, pastel, & watercolor. He was probably born Nimes, France.

François Bernard (French-born Louisiana painter, 1812–a 1880) Choctaw Village Near Chefuncte

He studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts at Paris & Collin' & exhibited in the Paris salon between 1842 & 1849. His portraits of Louisiana residents are dated as early as 1848, when he apparently was visiting.

François Bernard (French-born Louisiana painter, 1812–a 1880) Basilice Toledano - Mrs John MacDonald Taylor

Bernard returned in Dec. 1856, to settle in New Orleans, supposedly at the invitation of a group of sugar planters who wanted him to paint their portraits. He worked in New Orleans during the winter months & traveled as an itinerant painter in
the summer.

François Bernard (French-born Louisiana painter, 1812–a 1880) Girl in White Dress

It is probable that Bernard returned to France during these travels, since his children were born there (ca. 1857 & ca. 1862). He seems to have left New Orleans during the Civil War & traveled, especially around Mandeville, Louisiana, where he painted local Indians.

François Bernard (French-born Louisiana painter, 1812–a 1880) Elizabeth Alice Briot Alces

In February of 1867, it was reported that he had returned to the city. He taught drawing to Alexandre Alaux & advised the continuation of his studies in Europe.

François Bernard (French-born Louisiana painter, 1812–a 1880) Two Chitimacha Indians

He exhibited in New Orleans at Wageners in 1867; at the Grand State Fair in 1868; at Wagener & Meyer's from 1869-71; & at the American Exposition from 1885-6. About 1875, Bernard left New Orleans for Peru.

François Bernard (French-born Louisiana painter, 1812–a 1880) Lise Jone McCall - Mrs Frederick G Freret

François Bernard (French-born Louisiana painter, 1812–a 1880) Mrs Mary Campbell Strother Moore

François Bernard (French-born Louisiana painter, 1812–a 1880) Delphine Odile Fleitas - Madame Alcee Villere

François Bernard (French-born Louisiana painter, 1812–a 1880) Angele Longer - Mrs Evan Jones McCall

About this blog

In colonial America, men were considered superior to woman in all ways. In a strict patriarchal hierarchy, men controlled not only wealth & political power but also how their children were raised, religious questions, & all matters of right & wrong.

In the early part of the 19Cy, however, many Americans experienced a revolution in gender. The doctrine of “separate spheres” maintained that woman’s sphere was the world of privacy, family, & morality while man’s sphere was the public world -– economic striving, political maneuvering, & social competition. But women were interested in equality.

In 1848, New York passed the Married Woman’s Property Act. Now a woman wasn’t automatically liable for her husband’s debts; she could enter contracts on her own; she could collect rents or receive an inheritance in her own right; she could file a lawsuit on her own behalf. She became for economic purposes, an individual. By 1900, every state has passed legislation modeled after this, granting married women some control over their property and earnings.

In 1870 after the Civi War, the 15th Amendment was ratified, saying, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” African-Americans could vote, but women could not.

But it was not until 1920, that the 19th Amendment was ratified granting women the right to vote. “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”