Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin

He left France during the Revolution, and worked as a portrait engraver in the United States in the early 19th century.

Born in France in 1770 to Benigne Charles Fevret and Victoire Marie de Motmans, Saint-Memin was educated at École Militaire, Paris, graduating in 1785.

They intended to go to Saint-Domingue, ”to prevent the sequestration of the lands of his creole mother [However] in New York news of the sad fate of that colony made them decide to remain where they were.

Faced with earning a living, they first tried raising vegetables, but ... this experiment proved inadequate.”[2] Out of necessity, Saint-Memin taught himself to work portraits.

[3] Portrait subjects included Alexander Macomb, John Marshall, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Christopher G. Champlin, and others.