Figure 1.-- Alfred Boisseau was born in Paris, France (1827). His life is not well documented. He was raised in a well-to-do family. He began art training as a teenger under Paul Delaroche (about 1840). This was at the time one of the most respected studios in Paris. He seems to have emigrated to America after finishing his studies. His career as a result is largely associated with America. At the time he reached America there were few trained artists. This is a self portrait late in his career--'The Photograoher'. It was painted in 1896.

Alfred Boisseau was born in Paris, France (1827). His life is not well documented. He was raised in a well-to-do family. He began art training as a teenger under Hippolyte Delaroche (often called Paul Delaroche), a respected academic artist (about 1840). This was at the time one of the most respected studios in Paris. He began exhibiting in the Salon (1842). He seems to have emigrated to America after finishing his studies. His career as a result is largely associated with America. At the time he reached America there were few trained artists. He is noted for his drawing skills. His interest in photography may be associated with its usefulness as a drawing aid. He created some wonderful mid-19th century genre scenes, a period when photography was still primarily studio work. Boisseau began working in antebellum New Orleans (1845). His brother worked at the the French Consulate. We note some wonderful genre works of children in rural areas, including Native Americans, blacks, and Creoles. There are several works depicting the Choctaws who were present in the Louisiana bayous. He worked in many areas. New Orleans where he first arrived seem to have been a favorite place. Some of his best known paintings were done there, including 'The doll peddler'). He returned to Paris to exhibit some of his Louisiana works (1848). He was back in America (1849). He moved to Montreal as the United States was spiraling toward civil war (1860). There he opened the first of what would be come three photographic studios. The third was opened (1868). After the Civil War he mostly worked in Canada and the northern states. Boisseau liked to work from life rather than a studio. Presumably he did his portraits in studios. he was also very interesteded in photography. He was a Daguerreotypist in Cleveland, Ohio (1852). He also advertized as a portrait and landscape painter, art teacher, and art dealer. We have not yet found example of his photographic work. Less is known about his later life. But there are paintings from this period. We know he was still exhibiting portrait and genre works at the Royal Canadian Academy (1884). He did a portrait of an unidentified boy wearing a sailor suit (1895). The genre painting here, probably was a self portrait (1896) (figure 1). He died in Buffalo, New York (1901).

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Created: 4:22 PM 1/13/2012
Last updated: 4:22 PM 1/13/2012