Born in Paris, Alfred Boisseau trained under Paul Delaroche. Though the details of his life are obscure, he probably began his studies around 1840. Delaroche's was the most popular atelier at the time and the one attended by the best French students. His style, which he naturally passed on to his pupils, was a fusion of the academic neoclassical school and the subject matter of the romantics, resulting in "historical" paintings so highly finished they were nearly photographic in their realism. Delaroche achieved this through his dedication to drawings, possibly augmented with daguerreotypes-a practice that many of his students, including Boisseau and the better-known Jean Leon Gerome would adopt, with successful results, the following decade.

Boisseau began his career in New Orleans, where he lived and painted from 1845 until 1849. One of the earliest artists to establish a studio there, he was likely drawn to the city by his brother, who was serving as secretary to the French consul. Fascinated by native Americans, as well as blacks and Creoles, he painted a number of ethnic subjects, several of which were exhibited at the 1848 Salon. One of these, Louisiana Indians Walking Along a Bayou (1847; New Orleans Museum of Art), is perhaps the most famous antebellum genre painting done in Louisiana.

On a much more intimate scale is Caught in the Act, painted in New Orleans in 1849. The scene focuses on a humorous incident: a young servant has been discovered taking a nip, reserving the glasses for the master and his guest. While the setting is simple, Boisseau's training and background are revealed in the carefully recorded detail-the Adamesque woodwork, and the hardware on the grain-painted door.

Though Boisseau worked from life, he was also involved in photography, and by 1852 he was listed as a daguerreotypist in Cleveland, Ohio. He also advertised as a portrait and landscape painter, art teacher and art dealer. In 1860 he made his way to Montreal, and opened the first of three consecutive photographic studios, the last in 1868. While little is known about his later life, he exhibited portrait and genre pictures at the Royal Canadian Academy as late as 1884. Several, such as French Quarter Statuette and Doll Peddler and The Grandmother, depict New Orleans subjects. He died in Buffalo, New York, in 1901. NRS

Biography courtesy of The Charleston Renaissance Gallery, www.antiquesandfineart.com/charleston