Antonio & Nina Meucci

Antonio Meucci, Italian, fl. 1818–1834
Nina Meucci, Spanish, fl. 1818–ca. 1830

Antonio and Nina Meucci, husband and wife, arrived in New Orleans in 1818, capable of painting miniatures and portraits "of every dimension." In 1821, the couple founded an "academy for young ladies & gentleman" in New Orleans but two years later moved it to Charleston, South Carolina, where they offered courses in "DRAWING in Crayons, Miniature Painting, Landscape, Flower Painting...and also the true manner of Painting on Velvet and Satin." They were in New York City in 1823; in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1825; and back in New York in 1826. Near the end of the year, the Meuccis returned to New Orleans, where they exhibited "a great variety of miniatures and other styles" at Hewlett's Exchange Coffee House and Davis's Coffee House. The Meuccis noted in advertisements that they would repair "all likenesses painted by themselves, which may be injured by the weather, damp or otherwise." Antonio painted scenery for the Théâtre de Orleans in 1827. At about the same time, he taught Julien Hudson to paint miniatures.

The couple departed for Cuba and Jamaica in the late 1820s, ending up in Cartagena, Columbia, where Antonio painted miniatures of Simón Bolivar in 1830. Nina may have stopped painting by this point. Charged with plagiarism by rival artist Don Jose Maria Espinosa, Antonio sought a commission in Rionegro (1831), in Popayán (1832), and in Lima (1834).