Point Breeze, the Estate of Joseph Napoleon Bonaparte at Bordentown, New Jersey

1817–20

Attributed to Charles Lawrence
American, active 1813–1837

Although based in Philadelphia, landscape and portrait painter Charles Lawrence was born near Bordentown, New Jersey, the site of the idyllic scene pictured here. Point Breeze was the name of the country estate owned by Joseph Napoleon Bonaparte (the older brother of the French emperor Napoleon I), who fled to America after his brother’s fall from power. Under a warm, golden light, Napoleon’s homestead presides atop a hill, with a stone bridge, lake, curving paths, gently sloping hills, and bucolic vegetation creating a picturesque vista. The artist’s tight, detailed style, infused with green and autumnal hues, aptly captures the romantic feel of this cultivated landscape.

Status: On View, Gallery 168
Department: Arts of the Americas

Artist: Charles B. Lawrence
Title: Point Breeze, the Estate of Joseph Napoleon Bonaparte at Bordentown, New Jersey
Place: Philadelphia (Place depicted)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: c. 1817–1820
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 68.6 × 92.7 cm (27 × 36 1/2 in.)
Credit Line: Through prior acquisition of the Friends of American Art Collection
Reference Number: 1987.170
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/69538/manifest.json

Wendy A. Cooper, Classical Taste in America, 1800–1840, exh. cat. (Baltimore: Baltimore Museum of Art, 1993), cat. 43 (ill.).

Baltimore Museum of Art, Classical Taste in America, 1800–1840, June 27–Sept. 26, 1993, cat. 43; Charlotte, NC, Mint Museum of Art, Nov. 20, 1993–Mar. 13, 1994, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, May 1–July 24, 1994.

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Point Breeze, the Estate of Joseph Napoleon Bonaparte at Bordentown, New Jersey

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.