Charles Balthazar Julien Fevret de Saint-M閙in; Portrait of Mrs. Silas Lee (Temperance Hedge Lee); ca. 1799; charcoal; black crayon; traces of graphite on pink laid paper; 20 5/8 in. x 15 1/8 in. (52.39 cm x 38.42 cm); Saint-Memin emigrated from Paris to escape the French Revolution. Once in New York City; he turned to art professionally in the hope that it could sustain him. With little training; he settled on the 'physionotrace;' a process whereby a sitter's life size profile was mechanically traced with a pencil. With great efficiency and powers of observation; Saint-Memin completed a portrait by filling in the features with crayon. Silas and Temperance Hedge Lee were leading Maine citizens. A supporter of Bowdoin College; Lee served in Congress; these portraits were taken in Philadelphia. Among the hundreds that Saint-Memin drew; Temperance had the rare distinction of being one of the few women depicted. Her jewelry and a headdress; enlivened by the pink paper; ornament an alert and handsome figure. The original gilded frames further enhance the drawings.