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Lot Essay
Woven after the cartoons by Poussiniste history painter Nicolas-André Monsieau (1755-1837), these tapestries were created in a pure neoclassical style that aimed to return to its Greco-Roman origins. It is influenced by both the purpose and the visual language of ancient Roman wall decoration that influenced the decorative arts throughout the last quarter of the eighteenth century. To appeal to a new revolutionary aesthetic characterized by severe neoclassicism, two sets of these cartoons were woven at Beauvais under the direction of the director de Menou; one in 1792 and another in 1793. By the last quarter of the twentieth century, one of the sets eventually ended up in the home of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is impossible to tell which set was woven in which year, but it has been suggested that the set in the French state collection is the one woven in 1792 and ours dates from 1793, see W. H. Adams, ed., The Eye of Thomas Jefferson, Charlottesville, 1976, p. 219.
Gouverneur Morris (1752-1816) was by birth a member of the Colonial aristocracy of New York. His father, Lewis Morris II (1698-1762) was Lord of the Manor of Morrisania, one of the only six New York estates to be possessed of manorial rights. His half-brother, Lewis Morris III (1726-1798), was New York signatory of the Declaration of Independence. As for Morris himself, he well represented the type of gentry from whom so many of the American Revolutionary leaders came. At the Continental Congress in 1777-79 he enthusiastically supported George Washington. In 1787, Morris was chosen as delegate to the Continental Convention assembled in Philadelphia to frame what was to become the Constitution of the United States of America. In December 1788, Morris sailed to France to manage contracts with the Farmers-General. In 1790, he was unofficially appointed to act for President Washington concerning the American war debt for France. In 1792, he was appointed by Washington to succeed Thomas Jefferson as Minister to the Court of Louis XVI, keeping his appointment until 2 October 1794, being the only member of the diplomatic corps to ride out the Terror. While Morris’s diplomatic position in Paris was officially neutral, privately he sided with the monarchy that had supported the American Revolution and conceived a bold, yet unavailing attempt for Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette to escape from Paris. Later, Morris was to save Lafayette’s wife from the guillotine. Morris remained in Paris until the spring of 1793, withdrawing to his country house near Sainport until October 1794, and thence to the continent with numerous visits to London. He returned to New York in 1798, moving in 1800 into Morrisania, his newly built house, to live amongst his books bought in Paris and London, his French wines and what was almost certainly the first French Royal furniture to be seen in New York.
Gouverneur Morris (1752-1816) was by birth a member of the Colonial aristocracy of New York. His father, Lewis Morris II (1698-1762) was Lord of the Manor of Morrisania, one of the only six New York estates to be possessed of manorial rights. His half-brother, Lewis Morris III (1726-1798), was New York signatory of the Declaration of Independence. As for Morris himself, he well represented the type of gentry from whom so many of the American Revolutionary leaders came. At the Continental Congress in 1777-79 he enthusiastically supported George Washington. In 1787, Morris was chosen as delegate to the Continental Convention assembled in Philadelphia to frame what was to become the Constitution of the United States of America. In December 1788, Morris sailed to France to manage contracts with the Farmers-General. In 1790, he was unofficially appointed to act for President Washington concerning the American war debt for France. In 1792, he was appointed by Washington to succeed Thomas Jefferson as Minister to the Court of Louis XVI, keeping his appointment until 2 October 1794, being the only member of the diplomatic corps to ride out the Terror. While Morris’s diplomatic position in Paris was officially neutral, privately he sided with the monarchy that had supported the American Revolution and conceived a bold, yet unavailing attempt for Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette to escape from Paris. Later, Morris was to save Lafayette’s wife from the guillotine. Morris remained in Paris until the spring of 1793, withdrawing to his country house near Sainport until October 1794, and thence to the continent with numerous visits to London. He returned to New York in 1798, moving in 1800 into Morrisania, his newly built house, to live amongst his books bought in Paris and London, his French wines and what was almost certainly the first French Royal furniture to be seen in New York.