Anderson Childe Bouchelle with bird, circa 1912
The theme this week is NEWSWORTHY. In Week 7, I told you about the Sams descendants that the Roney’s discovered on a trip to Florida. I ended that article with this statement,
“A Sams descendant owned a controversial painting claimed to be the only portrait Eva Perón posed for in her life! Yes, that Evita!”
A newsworthy mystery for sure.
The man behind this story is Anderson Childe Bouchelle (1908 – 1993). His mother was Anna Sams Bouchelle (1873 – 1963). She was the daughter of Francis W. Sams, who served both in the Florida House of Representatives and the state Senate. Anna was 25 when she married Dr. Louise B. Bouchelle (1869 – 1954). Dr. Bouchelle was the first resident cardiologist in Florida, arriving in 1895 at the request of railroad magnate Henry Flagler.
Anderson was the youngest of their four children, making him a GGG Grandson of William and Elizabeth Sams, “our” Datha Island pioneers. Interesting that for all his accomplishments, the only photo I could find of Anderson Child Bouchelle is the one above.
Museum of Arts and Sciences (Daytona Beach, FL)
Anderson Bouchelle was a New Smyrna Beach real estate developer, art collector, and benefactor to the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach, FL. He made a fortune in residential real estate development, such as Bouchelle Island and Inlet Shores in New Smyrna Beach. Anderson was a collector. As a young man, Bouchelle studied banking and went to work as an assistant to Henry Walters, a major American art collector and benefactor of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, MD.
He began collecting in England while working for the investment banking firm of Lehman Brothers. Bouchelle’s collection eventually included thousands of objects, including Tiffany lamps, Meissen porcelain, silver pieces, glass, and early American furniture. His will left most of his collection to the Daytona museum.
“I’m a magpie collector, because I see a thing and want it, and then I enjoy it so much I hate to part with it. But you have to dispose of things from time to time for one reason or another.”
Since he died in 1993, the Daytona museum has added an Anderson C. Bouchelle Study Center and Gallery for International Decorative Arts.
From the museum’s website,
“The Anderson C. Bouchelle Center for the Study of International Decorative Arts and its adjacent gallery, contain over 600 objects from the museum’s collections. From the Carrera marble statue of a classical maiden at the gallery entrance, to the richly-colored Tiffany-inspired Romeo and Juliet glass door at the rear, this gallery installation is a feast of the decorative arts.
By the juxtaposition of the wide range of varied art objects, the aim of the installation is to create a meaningful experience for the visitor through comparison and contrast of shape, historic affiliation, design element color and material. Against royal purple walls, a treasure trove of precious woods, the soft gleam of gold and silver, and the luster of antique mirrors sets the stage for angled cases that flaunt their lovely wares.
Highlights of this collection include Meissen, Berlin, Vienna and Vieux Paris porcelain, Staffordshire pottery, American Silver objects, Russian enamels, gilt bronze objects and cases of American Brilliant Period Glass from the permanent collection.”
Now back to the portrait mentioned earlier. It’s a portrait of María Eva Duarte done before she became Eva Perón or Evita.
By the late 20th century, Eva Perón had become the subject of numerous articles, books, stage plays, and musicals. Eva Perón’s life’s most popular rendering was the musical production Evita in London’s West End theater. When it moved to the U.S., the Broadway production won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1980. Shortly after Anderson Bouchelle’s death, Evita, the movie, came out. Madonna was cast in the title role and won the Golden Globe Award for “Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy” in 1996.
The Washington Post published this related article in 1997.
“EVA PERON PORTRAIT TO GO ON VIEW
The only portrait Eva Perón was ever known to have sat for is about to have its first public showing some 56 years after its completion, a Florida museum director said today.
The oil-on-canvas portrait of the celebrated first lady of Argentina during the populist government of Juan Peron is by Brazilian Candido Portinari. It has belonged to the Museum of Arts and Sciences here since 1991, a gift from the late Florida real estate magnate Anderson Bouchelle.
Museum Director Gary Libby said he had been planning to make it part of a future exhibit on 20th-century women, but interest being generated by the film “Evita” changed his mind.
“With all the attention being focused on Eva Perón by the film, I felt this was the best time for the public to see it,” Libby said. The painting will go on exhibit Tuesday.
Eva Duarte sat for the portrait in 1940, four years before she met Perón. She was a star on Argentine radio at the time and a theatrical agent commissioned Portinari to paint her, Libby said.
Many portraits of her exist, said Andres Avellaneda, an Argentine scholar at the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Florida, but most were painted from photographs.
“There are so many images of her as first lady, many of them portraits, that it is very surprising that she authorized only one,” Avellaneda said.
Libby said the Portinari portrait shows a 21-year-old Evita, unadorned by jewelry, posing with her hair worn down in classical fashion. He said the painting, probably completed in an afternoon, belonged to a Peronista family that fled Argentina and settled in Miami.
Bouchelle later bought the painting and kept it in his private collection until he gave it to the museum.”
This quote from Anderson C. Bouchelle reminds me of several homes I’ve visited on Dataw Island.
And I say this to anyone thinking about collecting: Buy what will give you the appreciation of value and joy of possession. A house is much more interesting, filled with things that are beautiful.
Anderson Childe Bouchelle
Sources
Arts & Sciences, from the Museum of Arts & Sciences (Daytona Beach, FL), Explore the North (Wing), Summer 2016
Holden, Joel and Riski, Bill – The Sams Family Tree, Ancestry.com, accessed 10 Jul 2020.
The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, FL), Obituary for Anderson Child Bouchelle, 29 Jun 1993
The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, FL), Obituary for Louis Brown Bouchelle, 7 Sep 1954
The Washington Post, Eva Peron Portrait To Go On View, 7 Jan 1997
Wikipedia, Topic = Museum of Arts and Sciences (Daytona Beach), accessed 10 Jul 2020
#52Sams Week 28 – Newsworthy