In our Decorative Arts Gallery sits a miniature portrait of a young woman. She reclines on a chair, dressed in a simple white cotton frock, with her dark hair held in place by a large pin. She smiles demurely, staring at you. Do you recognize the woman in the painting?

This is Jeanne Françoise Julie Adélaïde Récamier – more commonly called Juliette – at the age of 28. She was a European celebrity in the early 19th century, known across Paris for her salon where leading literary and political circles gathered. Her story was commemorated in the 1920/1928 films, Madame Récamier, but, as with many women, truth is stranger than fiction.