Enfilade

From the press release from Andalusia Historic House, Gardens & Arboretum:

Bass Otis, Portrait of Miss Adèle Sigoine, 1815, oil on canvas (Bensalem, Pennsylvania: The Andalusia Foundation).

An oil painting by Philadelphia artist Bass Otis (1784–1861), Portrait of Miss Adèle Sigoigne (1815)—which has been on view at Andalusia Historic House, Gardens & Arboretum (Andalusia) in Bensalem, Pennsylvania since 2014 as a long-term loan from the Independence Seaport Museum (ISM) in Philadelphia—now joins Andalusia’s permanent collection in an act of collegial partnership. Adèle Sigoigne was a good friend of Jane Craig Biddle (1793–1856) who lived at Andalusia with her husband, Nicholas Biddle (1786–1844). ISM has deaccessioned the painting and transferred its ownership to Andalusia.

“We are overjoyed to have Adèle’s portrait now part of our permanent collection,” said Andalusia’s executive director John Vick. “Every piece of art in the historic house has a unique story to tell about the property and the people who lived here or visited. Adèle was practically family to the Biddles, making this a fitting home for her portrait. We are grateful to our partners at Independence Seaport Museum for recognizing what the painting means to Andalusia and for making this momentous transfer possible.”

“Our staff and Board were unanimous in wanting to transfer this painting permanently to Andalusia,” said Peter Seibert, ISM’s president and chief executive officer. “Its history and associations with the Biddle family are significant, and thus the painting is imminently relevant to their mission. For us, the transfer is a visible reminder of how two museums can come together to ensure that the history and heritage of our community is preserved in public trust for future generations.”

Although it is unclear how or when Jane and Adèle met, their lasting friendship is certain. Close in age and of similar social standing, the two women came from very different backgrounds, however. Jane was a Philadelphian by birth, the only daughter of John and Margaret Craig, the couple who first established Andalusia as a country estate in 1795. Adèle, by contrast, was French-born and had lived in Haiti. After the Haitian Revolution began in 1791, she moved to Philadelphia with her mother, Aimée Sigoigne, who started a school for young women at 128 Pine Street. Adele was one of a few guests who attended Jane’s wedding to Nicholas Biddle, held at Andalusia on 3 October 1811. The Biddles’ three daughters would later attend Madame Sigoigne’s school, including Adèle who was named for her mother’s dear friend. (The name Adèle remained popular for several generations of Biddle descendants.)

Although the portrait is unsigned, its attribution is firm; it is nearly certain that the Biddles commissioned Bass Otis to paint Adèle’s portrait as he also painted Jane’s portrait around 1815. (This painting is in the collection of the Second Bank of the United States Portrait Gallery in Philadelphia.) Both women are shown in fashionable, Empire-style dresses with luxurious fabrics draped over their shoulders: Jane’s is white and sheer while Adèle’s is a vibrant red. Their hair is also similarly styled in an updo with ringlets framing their faces. Nicholas Biddle conveyed his appreciation of Adèle’s portrait to Otis in a letter, which remains with and will be transferred with the painting from ISM.

With its oldest portions dating to the 1790s, the house at Andalusia was expanded by Benjamin Latrobe in 1806 and then again in the 1830s, when an addition with a Doric columned porch was constructed according to designs by Thomas Ustick Walter (Walter had trained under William Strickland).

Since the portrait of Sigoigne has been on loan at Andalusia, it has been on view in the historic house’s library, which was part of the 1830s addition designed by architect Thomas Walter. Now in Andalusia’s permanent collection, it will be moved to what is known as the Painted Floor Bedroom. This room is part of the original 1797 construction and could have been where Adèle stayed when she visited Jane around the time that the portrait was made.

The Biddles’ patronage of Bass Otis continued for many years. In 1827, Nicholas Biddle commissioned the artist to paint a copy of Jacques-Louis David’s famous scene Napolean Crossing the Alps (1801). The oil on canvas copy, also on view at Andalusia, was owned by Napoleon’s brother Joseph Bonaparte, who knew the Biddles, lived near them in Philadelphia, and owned a country estate (Point Breeze) near Andalusia. By the 1820s, however, the Biddles began to favor another Philadelphia artist, Thomas Sully, who painted the couple’s portraits in 1826, both of which are on view at Andalusia. In 1829 the Biddles commissioned him to paint another portrait of Adèle Sigoigne, which is in the collection of The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California.

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Andalusia Historic House, Gardens & Arboretum is a non-profit organization and a scenic 50-acre property overlooking the Delaware River in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. Established more than 225 years ago, the site is a natural paradise of preserved native woodlands and spectacular gardens, as well as museum with an exceptional collection of paintings, sculptures, decorative art, and rare books and manuscripts.