Eleanor Pearson DeLorme

Eleanor Pearson DeLorme (October 8, 1922-February 17, 2026). Eleanor interpreted the elegance of the French decorative arts for an English-speaking audience. Her work was a fusion of academic research and human interest in the social and aesthetic milieu of the artists, patrons and connoisseurs of the light architect, appointments, textiles, and jewelry of the 18th and 19th century French aristocracy, who were negotiators of an aesthetic which served as a benchmark for European culture for over two centuries. She authored Garden Pavilions and the 18th Century French Court (Antiques Collectors' Club, 1996) which was also published in a French edition entitled Pavillons et Fêtes sous l'Ancien Régime (Éditions Monelle Hayot, 1996).

Her particular fascination was with the First Empire which culminated in Joséphine: Napoléon's Incomparable Empress (winner of First Prize of the 2003 International Napoleonic Society) and Joséphine and the Arts of the Empire published in 2005 by the J. Paul Getty Museum, both of which received extensive editorial input from her son Charles Pearson DeLorme.

Her expertise included the architecture and landscapes of the great houses of England and the James River, Virginia; the chateaux, pavilions and gardens of France; furniture and jewelry, She delivered Bakwin Lectures "Jewelry as Art" and ""Joséphine, Tastemaker of Europe" at Wellesley College. Her last book (unpublished) was a social history of jewelry.

Her late husband, Dr. Thomas L. DeLorme Jr., an orthopedic surgeon to whom she was married for 61 years, photographed images for Garden Pavilions and encouraged her to embark her last published work, an e-book, The Word Painted: The FIve Books of Moses illustrated by the Masters (WestBow, 2016) which combines a close reading of the text of the Pentateuch with an analysis of paintings of European and American painters and their artistic circles and social milieu. On this project, she was helped by two Old Testament scholars who were ministers at her house of worship, Park Street Church, Boston and by the minister there in charge of the arts, who arranged for its presentation. Previously, she was active for many years at Triniitarian Congregational Church, Wayland.

Born in Bessemer, Alabama, she was introduced at a young age to Napoléon by "Big Daddy," her grandfather John Wiley Horton, who had studied at a Quaker school in Ohio and managed a general store in Courtland. Her father volunteered as a machine-gunner and served in the Meuse-Argonne campaign in France during WWI. She studied theater at Columbia University, obtained her B.A. from Wellesley (Phi Beta Kappa), and earned a Masters in art history from Harvard. She was an adjunct curator at the Davis Art Museum and senior lecturer at Wellesley in the art history department, setting up a summer internship there.

She is survived by sons and daughters-in-law: Thomas and Linda DeLorme, Stuart and Hsuan DeLorme; nephew and wife, Thomas and Dana Norton; 4 grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren.

She relished this thought about Christ's amazing grace: when we hear him walk in the garden, this time, we will not be afraid. Chère maman, promenez-vous joyeusement et, oui, sans peur, avec votre Seigneur parmi ses pavillons emplis de gloire!

A memorial service will be held at North Hill, 865 Central Avenue, Needham on April 18 at 11am in the Lower Level of Wellspring Landing immediately followed by lunch. There is parking on the lower fire road outside the Wellspring Landing entrance or near the Grand Lobby entrance on the upper level. Please give yourself time to get parked and find the site.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made in her memory to:

Hope Church Henniker, 217 Hall Avenue, Henniker, NH 03242 or give online: www.hopechurchhenniker.com

World Relief: https://www.worldrelief.org

For online guestbook: www.everettfuneral.com