This painting, a copy, depicts Charles Le Moyne, lord and first baron of Longueuil, the eldest son of Catherine Thierry dit Primot (1640-1690) and Charles Lemoyne de Longueuil et de Châteauguay (1626-1685) who, in 1645, served in the Trois-Rivières garrison as an interpreter, clerk, and soldier. The illustrious siblings of the first baron of Longueuil included, among others, Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville (1661-1706) and Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville (1680-1767).
Charles Le Moyne was born in December 1656 in Montreal and baptized in the parish of Notre-Dame. His godmother was none other than Jeanne Mance (1606-1673). While Charles was still very young, his family entrusted him, as a page, to the care and education of a relative of Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac, in France. This was how Marshal d’Humières (1628-1694) attached him to his service and took charge of instructing him in the civil and military functions due to his rank. In 1681, still in France, Charles Le Moyne married Claude Élisabeth Souart d’Adoucourt in Paris or Versailles. He returned to the country shortly before 1683. He inherited all his father’s titles when the latter died in 1685.
But the new lord continued his military career, not without its dangers. At the battle in August 1689 in Lachine, he was injured in his arm. The following year, he was wounded again at the Siege of Quebec but saved from near-certain death thanks to the case that contained the powder for his rifle, which acted as a shield. He went to France to have his wounds treated.
In early 1700, Charles Le Moyne learned that Louis XIV had signed letters patent naming him Baron de Longueuil, a unique honour in New France. This tribute also benefitted all his descendants, whose rights would be in force until the seigneurial regime was dismantled in the mid-19th century.
Charles Le Moyne, Baron de Longueuil, also acted on many occasions as a negotiator with First Nations communities.
In 1720, he was in Trois-Rivières in the role of governor. Four years later, he served as governor of Montreal.
After becoming a widower, Charles Le Moyne, Baron de Longueuil, got remarried in 1727 at the age of 71 to Marguerite Legardeur de Tilly, a widow of her two husbands from previous marriages. The baron of Longueuil died in June 1729.
As for the artist, Donald Riblings Hill, he was born in New York State in June 1900. He came to settle in Montreal with his parents (Franze Max. Hill and Sophia Hill) and his two brothers, Herbert and Nicholas. The family settled in Westmount in 1907, and their naturalization took place in 1921. At that time, Donald Riblings Hill was an arts student. In 1927, he participated in the Salon du Printemps in his adopted city, and his miniatures were noticed. They were “exquisite, delicate in execution and perfect in expression.” The artist was also present at the Salon du Printemps 1928.
Much like other painters of his time, Hill, among others, produced copies of works from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
How do we explain the presence of this painting in the Tarieu de Lanaudière family? Marie-Catherine Le Moyne (1734-1788), the granddaughter of Charles Le Moyne, first Baron de Longueuil, married Charles-François-Xavier Tarieu de Lanaudière (1710-1776), the son of Marie-Madeleine Jarret de Verchères (1678-1747) and Pierre-Thomas de Lanouguère Tarieu de La Naudière (1677-1757).
The donor, Mrs. Norman Neilson, is a descendant of Madeleine de Verchères. She donated this painting to the museum in 1947.
Donation from Alice Lanaudière Neilson
Musée Pierre-Boucher Collection
1980 11 P
