Eugène Louis Lami (French, 1800-1890) The Stuart Ball, Buckingham Palace, 13 June 1851 watercolour 19 x 32cm (7 1/2 x 12 5/8in). Footnotes: The watercolour depicts the Stuart Ball held at Buckingham Palace on 13 June 1851, the last of three costume balls given by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Eugène Lami had been involved in designing costumes for the royal family for several years, and on this occasion the Queen commissioned him to prepare the designs for their costumes. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are depicted towards the centre-left of the composition. The Queen recorded in her journal on 13 June 1851: 'Our dresses were most exactly carried out from Eugène Lami's drawings' (Delia Millar, The Victorian Watercolours and Drawings in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, London, 1995). Lami resided in London between 1848 and 1852, following his exile from Paris, where he had established connections with the family of the exiled Duc d'Orléans. During his London years, he received a number of commissions from Queen Victoria and the royal household. The date '1871' inscribed on the reverse suggests that the present watercolour was executed some twenty years after the event, possibly as a recollection or memorandum of the celebrated ball, by which time Lami had returned to Paris. The identification of the subject as the Stuart Ball was confirmed by Dr Susan Owens of the Royal Collection, Windsor, when previously offered in these rooms. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing