Elizabeth Gardner Bouguereau: Securing Commissions

"La Confidence"
by Elizabeth Gardner Bouguereau

"In these early years, Elizabeth Gardner Bouguereau was already making important contacts with American travellers that would secure her commissions for paintings or copies. Some of these early patrons may have heard of her through her influential friend Edward Tuck, some had letters of introduction from residents in Exeter or Boston, still others may have been acquaintances of Imogene Robinson. May of them were women. In 1866 she penned:

'I wrote you that Mrs. Young called on us. She invited us to dinner one evening and we had a cosy time. Mrs. Young professes a profound interest in my welfare and I certainly think her a lovely lady. She and her sister Miss Brayton spent an evening with us and have called to see us several times at the house and the Luxembourg. She has given me an order to paint a picture for her, a copy of one at the Luxembourg which she much admires. She has just left for Italy and I am to have it ready for her on her return in May.'

Visitors to her studio were often treated to small receptions, teas, and, on occasion, intimate dinner parties. In one letter she described such an event:

'Imo made some delicious soup, we had green peas, potatoes and turnips as Americans like them but cannot get from a French cook. Our rôtissier sent us a great turkey and a duck roasted brown and smoking hot. We had pears, oranges and cakes, nuts, figs, etc. Our concierge presided in the kitchen and her son waited on the table. Old Mrs. Morrill was delighted because it was homelike and they have since sent us a written expression of thanks. They have all gone to Spain.' 

The prospect of buying directly from the artist, visiting her studio, and even seeing the work in progress added an air of authenticity to the painting while allowing her patrons a privileged opportunity to come in direct contact with a member of the Parisian art community. She became expert at promoting her own work through her studio. What dominates in her letters, though, is  a work ethic, the sense of being on a mission. Her routine consisted of getting up at the crack of dawn, taking a cold shower, and drinking a warm cup of tea. She continues:

'We were at the table when the clock struck seven. Then we dress and are ready to start off when it is fairly daylight. We reach the Luxembourg at half past eight. I copy there a while and then go to our studio to work from life till dark.'

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Elizabeth Jane Gardner: Her Life, Her Work, Her Letters," MA Thesis by Charles Pearo, McGill University, 1997)