Lot 293: Louis Antoine Collas (French/New Orleans,

Louis Antoine Collas (French/New Orleans, 1775-1856, active New Orleans 1822-29), "Portrait of Pierre Laurent Trepagnier", oil on canvas, signed and dated "Collas 1827" lower right, 24 in. x 22 in., in an antique gilt frame.

Provenance: Descended in the family of the sitter. Note: Pierre Francois Trepagnier (b. 1749) established Ormond Plantation in 1787 along the Mississippi River in St. Charles Parish. He was awarded the land by the Spanish Governor Don Bernardo de Galvez in recognition of his service in subduing the British at Natchez during the American Revolution. Trepagnier grew indigo and sugar cane, and the plantation was prosperous. The main house, built in the "Louisiana Colonial" style, was completed in 1789 and occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Trepagnier and their children, including Pierre Laurent Trepagnier (b. 1788), whose portrait is offered here. Pierre Francois was a direct descendant of Claude Trepagnier (1671-1724), the first Trepagnier to come to New Orleans from Canada in the early 18th century. The home was often the scene for entertaining officials of the Louisiana and Spanish governments. A number of mysterious occurrences have taken place there through the years. In 1798, Pierre Francois Trepagnier was summoned from a family meal by a servant to meet a gentleman, supposedly a Spanish official. After a word to his wife, he left with the man and never returned. No trace of Trepagnier was ever found. In 1805, his wife sold the home and land to Col. Richard Butler. Still standing today, Ormond Plantation has changed ownership many times, but remains a graceful example of early Louisiana plantation architecture. Pierre Laurent Trepagnier married Heloise Reinne of St. Charles Parish and together they had four children. The portrait here depicts him in 1827 when he was 39 years old. Characteristic of classical French portraiture, Louis-Antoine Collas gallantly depicts Trepagnier with his piercing eyes, dramatic forward swept hair and formal dress. Collas was active as a portrait painter in New Orleans from 1822 to 1829. Prior to his arrival here from France, Collas exhibited at the Paris Salon, in St. Petersburg, Russia (where he painted members of the Czar's court), the American Academy of Fine Arts in NYC, and the American Academy in Philadelphia.