240 - LAMI (Eugène) (1800–1890). French painter, watercolorist, and lithographer.

LAMI (Eugène) (1800–1890). French painter, watercolorist, and lithographer. Autograph letter signed “Eug. Lami” to his friend Jules Richomme. No place, no date [Saturday, circa the Second Empire]. 2 pages, in-8. Dry-stamped paper. Creases. An interesting letter in which Eugène Lami mentions an appeal he made to Count Walewski, Minister of State, on behalf of his correspondent. “Here is a note I just received from Eug. Lami: I am forwarding it to you immediately. Please excuse me, in turn, dear friend, for not having come to pick you up to go to Mr. Price d’Avenne’s: but I have been overwhelmed by a series of urgent matters resulting from a meeting I had with the Minister of State, Count Walewski—a matter too lengthy to explain here. In any case, my work will prevent me from making that visit for some time; so please convey my apologies to Mr. Price and thank him on my behalf for his kind hospitality, which I shall be delighted to enjoy as soon as my schedule permits. ” Eugène Lami (1800–1890), a painter renowned for his watercolors and depictions of 19th-century high society, was one of the artists favored by the court of Louis-Philippe and the Second Empire. The mention of Count Alexandre Walewski (1810–1868), the illegitimate son of Napoleon I and Minister of State under Napoleon III, adds further historical interest to this correspondence. It illustrates the relationships artists maintained with the highest-ranking figures in the imperial administration.