As I have mentioned before, one of the best things about this research is the people who have contacted me because they have a connection with the material. Sometimes, it’s been by actual relatives and descendants of the Thorn’s. Other times, it has been people undertaking associated research.

This week, I got to meet a fellow history buff from Philly, who had randomly brought a framed print of Euphemia Van Rensselaer at a flea market. Mike tells me that he liked the frame, but has also now grown fond of the painting. In wanting to learn who was in the portrait, he stumbled on my website.

I was able to share this with Jacqueline who is connected to the Crugers through James Jauncey (Thorn).

The original used to hang in The Whitehouse, but is now in the Met Museum of Art in New York. (Wish I’d known that when I visited there a few years ago!).

Here is Mike’s print.

Here is the original

Critics have said Healy showed a lot more expression in Euphemia’s face than other portraits he painted of women. Or perhaps the sitter just exuded personality. Jacqueline has told me that this portrait was a favourite of Jackie Kennedy‘s.

For me, it was particularly interesting that in this painting, Healy shows how Franz Xavier Winterhalter influenced his work. Winterhalter, of course, famously painted Empress Eugenie and her ladies in waiting, including Baroness Jane Thorn.