Amalia Küssner Coudert (March 26, 1863 – May 1932) was an American artist from Terre Haute, Indiana, who is best known for her portrait miniatures of prominent American and European figures of the late 19th and early 20th century. Subjects for her paintings include actresses Lillian Russell and Marie Tempest; wealthy socialites Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, Emily Havemeyer (the wife of Theodore Havemeyer); members of Britain's royal family and London society such as King Edward VII, Alice Keppel, and Consuelo Vanderbilt, the Duchess of Marlborough; as well as members of the Russian royal family, including Czar Nicholas II and his wife, Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna; and wealthy industrialists such as Cecil Rhodes.
Early life and education
Amalia "Amalie" Küssner was born on March 26, 1863, in Crawfordsville, Indiana, to German immigrants, Lorenz and Emilie (Weinhardt) Küssner. The family, including Amalia's older siblings, Albert and Louisa, lived briefly in Greencastle, Indiana, before moving to Terre Haute, Indiana, on February 24, 1864. At Terre Haute, Lorenze Küssner ran the Palace of Music, a musical instrument repair shop at 213 Ohio Street. In 1867, after a fire destroyed the building, the Küssner music business moved to 219 Ohio Street, where the family lived in an apartment above the shop. Lorenz Küssnergave his daughter her first a miniature portrait on ivory when she was twelve years old. She enjoyed sketching the local scenery and began painting her own miniature portraits of family and friends on pieces of ivory, often from the discarded piano keys of damaged pianos.
Küssner attended local elementary schools in Terre Haute and studied art in 1872–74 with Sister Maurice Schnell at Saint Mary's Academy, which later became Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. Küssnergraduated from Terre Haute High School in June 1881. From 1883 to 1885, she continued her education at the boarding school of Madame Da Saliva and Mrs. Bradford in New York. After returning to Terre Haute, Küssner studied under local tutor Helen Minshall, became a charter member of the city's Decorative Arts Society, established an art studio, and began her career as a painter of portrait miniatures.
Marriage
Küssner met Charles duPont Coudert, a wealthy international lawyer, during a trip to Paris, France, in March 1896. Their courtship was interrupted in 1898 due to his military service in the Philippines during the Spanish–American War, but it resumed after his return to the United States in 1899. On July 4, 1900, Küssner married Captain duPont Coudert in a private ceremony attended only by their mothers in the sacristy at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. A small dinner party at the Hotel Savoy followed the ceremony and the newlyweds sailed for England the next day. The New York Times society page reported that the surprisingly "hasty wedding ... made quite a little stir" although the couple had known each other for more than four years at the time of their wedding and had been frequent companions at public events and social gatherings in New York.
Professional life
During the early years of her career in Terre Haute, Indiana, Küssner painted miniature portraits of the likenesses of wealthy local residents that included members of the Fairbanks, Minshall, Baker, and Reynolds families. After moving to New York City in 1891, she became famous for her miniature portrait work. Her typical miniature portraits were painted on small, oval discs of ivory from one to three inches in diameter. She reportedly completed more than 200 miniature portraits of notable individuals during her career. In many instances, the artist portrayed her subjects in a favorable light, choosing to emphasize their best features instead of reproducing exact likenesses.
New York City and Chicago
By 1892 Küssner had settled in New York City to pursue a career painting miniature portraits. Armed with introductions from her school friend and state actress Alice Fischer, as well as examples of her work, Küssner began to receive commissions to painted portraits of Manhattan's elite. She maintained a studio at her apartments in the Windsor Hotel and was paid an estimated US$1,000 per portrait.