Auguste Edouart

Auguste Amant Constant Fidèle Edouart (1789–1861) was a French-born portrait artist who worked in England, Scotland and the United States in the 19th century.

Born in Dunkerque, he left France in 1814, and established himself in London, where he began his career making portraits from hair.

In 1825, he began work as a silhouette portraitist, taking full-length likenesses in profile by cutting out black paper with scissors.

Edouart spent fifteen years touring England and in 1829 arrived in Edinburgh.

"Black Out: Silhouettes Then and Now", which included works by Edouart, Moses Williams, and others, held at the National Portrait Gallery, Washington D.C. May 31, 2018 to March 10, 2019, and the Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham AL, September 28, 2019 to January 12, 2020.