(French, 1770-1852)

Etienne Dutilh (1756-1810) and Catherine M. Dutilh (1770-1824) (M. 291, 294), 1801, unsigned, engravings on wove paper, sheet 4-1/2 x 4-1/2 in., plate 2-1/2 x 2-1/2 in.; 19th century partial gilt painted wood frames, eglomise mats, 7-3/4 in. diameter, 2 in. deep.

Provenance: Deaccessioned from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2013;  Northeast Auctions, August 18, 2013, lot 181

Note: Born in France, Etienne Dutilh established himself as a merchant in London and Rotterdam before immigrating to Philadelphia in 1783. When he came to Philadelphia, Dutilh established the mercantile house Étienne Dutilh and Company in the 1780s, trading primarily with the West Indies. In 1790, he and John Gotlief Wachsmuth formed the important mercantile firm of Dutilh & Wachsmuth. During their partnership, Dutilh traveled frequently to Europe and the West Indies, leaving the local management of the business to Wachsmuth. On one such voyage to Amsterdam in 1795, Dutilh married his cousin Catherine Madelaine Dutilh (1770-1804), returning to America with his new bride. Étienne anglicized his first name to Stephen around 1804 and passed away six years later, survived by Catherine and several children. Wachsmuth subsequently married his former partner’s widow and the combined family lived in Germantown until his death in 1826. The firm’s papers are divided between the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, The New York Public Library, and the Hagley Library.

Literature: Ellen G. Miles, Saint- Memin and the Neoclassical Profile Portrait in America (1994), pp. 295-296, nos. 291 and 294.