AUGUSTE TOULMOUCHE (French, 1829-1890) A Long-Awaited Letter signed and dated 'A. Toulmouche 1869' (lower left), with the title 'HORS CONCOURS' on a presentation plaque oil on canvas 63.0 x 52.5 cm (24 13/16 x 20 11/16 in). framed 98.0 x 88.0 x 10.0 cm (38 5/8 x 34 11/16 x 3 15/16 in). Footnotes: Provenance A Newport, Rhode Island, estate. N.B. Auguste Toulmouche, cousin of the composer Frédéric Toulmouche, was a favorite student of Charles Gleyre (1806-1874), who also taught Toulmouche's cousin-in-law, Claude Monet. Toulmouche was most well known for his paintings of the Parisian bourgeoisie; one such work (La fille) was bought by the emperor Napoleon III ahead of his 1852 wedding to empress Eugénie. While Toulmouche was respected during the prime of his career, the rise of Impressionism in the 1870s saw a decline in his popularity. In 1870 Toulmouche joined the military in the Franco-Prussian War. Afterward he spent much of his time at the Abbey of Blanche-Couronne, his late father-in-law's estate near Nantes. Works by Toulmouche are currently held at museums around the world, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Clark Institute, the Louvre, and the Musée d'Arts de Nantes. One might best recognize Toulmouche by his 1866 work The Reluctant Bride (La fiancée hésitante), which recently went viral on TikTok as a visual representation of womanhood and female rage. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing