Eglantine Lemaitre stands out as one of the few female sculptors to exhibit at the Salon by the end of the 19^th century. Though born in Gervais, she hailed from Blois and exhibited at the Salon, solely as a sculptor starting in 1884 through the 1890’s, winning Medals of Honor in 1886 and 1889 before returning to exhibit at the Salon in the 1910’s as well as showing at venues in Loir-et-Cher throughout this period. Her focus began and remained on realist animalia portrayals, her representations capturing both the movement and nature of the subject along in addition to a sense of its intellect and intent, no doubt facilitated by easy access to the models. Like Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899) before her, Lemaitre began showing animalia sculpture at the Salon in other media and then moved to models in bronze. Bonheur showed a terracotta in 1842 and a plaster in 1843 before a bronze in 1848, though both would use a variety of media throughout their careers.
For the Salon of 1890, Lemaitre prepared A coup de fusil in plaster. In Woman Sculptors, Engravers and Their Works, contemporary Lamers de Vits notes a full-size rendering of the model in a private collection in Bussy and reductions made for a collection in Charenton (M. Lamers de Vits, Les femmes sculpteurs, graveurs, et leurs œuvres, Paris, 1905, p. 82-85). By the mid-20^th century, proliferation of this work is also seen internationally; a version, presumably the same size as the present model, was placed on the University of Tampa campus at the entrance of the former Tampa Bay Hotel by circa 1947 and now sits in front of the Henry B. Plant Museum in Tampa. The Château Royal de Blois in Loir-et-Cher held a dedicated exhibition of her work in December 2005 to April 2006.
During her life, Lemaitre’s exhibitions often referenced her father’s name, Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin (1805–1871). In addition to being the celebrated magician who inspired the stage name of Harry Houdini, Robert-Houdin held many professions including watchmaker and inventor. The father and daughter’s influence on one another way be seen in pieces like Lemaitre’s Chat aux aguets, a cat sculpture with eyes lit by electric light (Exposition des beaux-arts et arts industriels modernes, Catalogue of the Exhibition, Des Amis des Arts de Loir-et-Cher, Blois, 1905, p. 18, no. 97).