| The marquis Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil, a Canadian, was the last governor of New France. Born in Quebec City in 1698, he was governor of Louisiana between 1742 and 1753 before being promoted to governor of New France, a position which he held between 1755 and 1760. His mandate coincided with the Seven Years War, at the end of which England took possession of the French territories in North America. Jeanne-Charlotte de Fleury Deschambault, widow of François Le Verrier de Roussan, married Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil in 1746. After the Conquest, they both returned to Paris, where she died in 1763 and he, in 1778. These paintings were purchased in France from the descendants of the first husband of Madame de Rigaud de Vaudreuil. The National Archives maintains the largest portrait collection essential to our understanding of Canada. Oil on canvas |