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Baroness
Hyde de Neuville, (Anne Marguerite Henriette de Marigny
Hyde de Neuville), arrived in New Jersey from France, with her husband,
in 1807. After the French Revolution, she secured the life and safe passage
of her husband, who was a royalist, by traveling alone across Europe to
intercede with Napoleon. In order for the couple to escape from
France, she posed as her husband’s mother until they arrived safely in
the U.S. They settled on a merino sheep farm in the New Brunswick
area. For a number of years, the couple journeyed to New York City
and to various settlements along the Hudson. After Napoleon was defeated
and the King restored to the throne, the de Neuvilles returned to
France. However, the Baron was rewarded for his loyalty and named
French Ambassador to the United States, so the couple returned there to
take up residency in the new capital, Washington. Baroness Hyde de
Neuville continued to produce watercolors, many of which survive to tell
us about life during the Federalist era. She often depicted scenes
of Native American life, as well as pictures of African Americans.
Both were rather rare subjects for an artist to choose, especially one
committed to keeping a monarchy in power.