portrait of Duruy was awarded a medal at the Salon of 1870. Art collector Shortly after, the Franco-Prussian War began. Among its victims was her friend, the painter Henri Regnault, who died defending Paris. She continued to paint, however. After the war, she was commissioned to do a portrait of President Adolphe Thiers. She also did a portrait of the art collector, Édouard André. Nine years later, she married him, although there is no evidence to indicate they had a relationship. He was ill at the time and his family insisted on a marriage contract that established a complete separation of their respective personal properties. Despite this arrangement. their collections, both begun many years before, began to merge. Eventually, she decided to hyphenate her name as Jacquemart-André. The couple travelled throughout Europe, Egypt and Turkey, adding to their collection. Altogether, they acquired 207 sculptures and 97 paintings. They were particularly interested in Italian Renaissance art and caused a scandal when they bought frescoes by Tiepolo at the Palazzo Contarini-Pisani, near Padua. There was a vitriolic attack in the press and many called for a ban on removing them from Italy. Nevertheless, the frescoes were removed and are now in the couple's townhouse (now the Musée Jacquemart-André) on the Boulevard Haussmann. After Édouard's death in 1894, she produced a copy of a document giving her possession of the entire joint collection. His family disputed its authenticity, but she won the case. After taking possession, she expanded the collection to include medals and English paintings. In 1902, she discovered that Mme.de Vatry's estate had been sold, including Chaalis Abbey. Luckily, she was able to acquire the Abbey and housed part of her collection there. She also ordered a funerary monument, showing her with palette and brush in hand, although she had painted very little in almost thirty years. She died in 1912, at her home on the Boulevard Haussmann in Paris. She was interred in the chapel at the Abbey, adorned with frescoes by Francesco Primaticcio. In accordance with an agreement she had made with Édouard, all of her possessions were bequeathed to the Institut de France. One year later, two Musées Jacquemart-André were inaugurated and opened to the public; one in Paris and one at the Abbey. References Further reading Théodore Pelloquet, "Nélie Jacquemart : Molière chez le barbier Gely, à Pézenas", L'Exposition, journal du salon de 1863, 24 May 1863,