Louis-Marie, Vicomte de Noailles

Gilbert Stuart

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Brother-in-law of the marquis de Lafayette, the vicomte de Noailles (1756–1804) worshiped the idea of democracy. Of noble French family, he nevertheless sympathized with the American cause and served in the Revolutionary War. Later, he played an important role in the abolition of the old regime in France; always a supporter of reason and law, however, he fled from the Terror and came to this country in the spring of 1793. In Philadelphia, he met Stuart, who painted this imposing portrait of him at full length, though on a small canvas. Noailles’s dashing figure dominates the richly varied scene, which is enlivened by a tumultuous sky and a troop of cavalry charging in strict formation.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art