A member of a prominent Burgundian family, Saint-Mémin came to America with his father during the French Revolution. They arrived in New York in the fall of 1793, and Saint-Mémin immediately took up work as an engraver and a draftsman. It was not long before he became the most talented, successful, and prolific profile artist in America. Nearly a thousand profiles have been recorded from his American career. He drew this image of Dyer Sharp Wynkoop, a lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps, on commission in Philadelphia, where he worked between 1799 and 1803.

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