Alfred de DREUX (Paris, 1810 - 1860) Equestrian portrait of Charles Joachim Lefèvre at full gallop Oil on canvas Signed 'alfred De Dreux' lower right Bears the remains of an old label on the reverse identifying the model Equestrian portrait of Charles Joachim Lefèvre at full gallop, oil on canvas, signed, by A. de Dreux 23.22 x 28.74 in. 59 x 73 cm Provenance: Charles Joachim Lefèvre Collection, Domaine de Chamant, Oise ; Kept in the model's family; Then by descent ; Anonymous sale; Deauville, Arqana Artcurial Deauville, 25 August 2012, no. 19 ; Private collection, Belgium Exhibitions : Alfred de Dreux: le cheval passion d'un dandy parisien, Paris, Fondation Mona Bismarck, January-March 1997, p.97 (repr.) and p. 163 (footnote) Bibliography: Chamant Collection, two albums of photographic reproductions Marie-Christine Renauld, L'univers d'Alfred De Dreux, Arles, 2008, p. 46, no. MCR 188 A great horse enthusiast, Charles Joachim Lefèvre (1826-1896) was also an important collector. A businessman, Lefèvre made his fortune in South America during the Second Empire before returning to France in the 1860s. He bought the Chamant estate near Senlis, along with 600 hectares of land, and established a stud farm there, which he quickly made prosper. His horses won numerous races. In 1870, he also acquired part of the famous stables of the Comte de Lagrange. He then travelled to England. His stay is documented by the work of Jean-Léon Gérôme, who was in exile in London at the time, who depicts him in Newmarket in 1872, proudly posing with a tie in the colours of his stable, while his horses in training can be seen in the background (fig. 1)1. That year, Lefèvre topped the list of racehorse owners, winning 600,000 francs. The Chamant estate housed an important collection of paintings. Thanks to a handwritten catalogue drawn up in the 1880s, we know that Lefèvre owned around one hundred and twenty paintings. These included around ten portraits of Alfred de Dreux, including our portrait. Alfred de Dreux depicts him, still a young man, galloping on a bay-brown horse. Marie-Christine Renauld dates our painting to the years 1853-1855, at a time when he was beginning his brilliant career as a horse breeder. 1. Anonymous sale; Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Beaussant Lefèvre, 23 November 2005, no. 65; then Galerie Matthiesen. Another painting by Gérôme entitled Souvenir de Newmarket was recently presented at auction: anonymous sale; Saint-Pair-sur-mer, Rois & Vauprès auctions, cabinet Lefèvre & de Laheudrie, 21 June 2024. Alfred de DREUX (Paris, 1810 - 1860) 59 x 73 cm