SAN MARINO, CALIF.- The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens has acquired a major painting by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (1755–1842), the most important female artist of 18th-century France. Portrait of Joseph Hyacinthe François-de-Paule de Rigaud, comte de Vaudreuil (ca. 1784) is the second masterpiece to come to The Huntington through a gift from The Ahmanson Foundation.

“We are enormously grateful to The Ahmanson Foundation for making this acquisition possible,” Huntington President Karen R. Lawrence said. “Adding an important work by Vigée Le Brun helps us achieve one of our goals—adding more works by important women. Once again, The Ahmanson Foundation proves to be an invaluable strategic partner, allowing us to make a masterpiece accessible to Southern California audiences.”

The Vigée Le Brun painting complements The Huntington’s significant collection of 18th-century French decorative art, which was established by Henry E. and Arabella Huntington in the early 20th century. “This finely painted masterwork will go on display in the Huntington Art Gallery, the building that holds French tapestries and carpets that were once part of the French court’s accoutrements at the Palais du Louvre and Versailles,” said Christina Nielsen, the Hannah and Russel Kully Director of the Art Museum at The Huntington. “It will not only add rich context, but will also shine as a star French painting. While our collection of 18th-century British portraiture is one of the best in the nation, this is our first French portrait of this caliber.”