In 1890, the American magazine The Art Amateur ran the following article in its gossip column:
“A queer story comes to me from Paris. A commission agent made a bargain with a poor painter, living out at Saint-Maude, to paint military subjects for him, at two francs an hour. The agent changed the signature to that of Gaubault and sold the pictures to various dealers. One day, by chance, the poor painter came to Paris, went to the Salon, and was astonished to see one of his pictures there. He looked at the catalogue and found the name of the artist and the address of the dealer where he was to be found. The poor artist went to the dealer and introduced himself saying, ‘I am Gaubault.’ ‘Most happy to make your acquaintance,’ replied the dealer. ‘Your pictures sell very well, and I have been wanting to see you for the last six years.’ ‘But my name is not Gaubault, it is Beauquesne.’
Explanations followed. The dishonest commission agent disappeared and Beauquesne restored his real signature on the pictures, which had made his pseudonym almost famous.”Source: Biography excerpted from the unpublished catalog by Edward P. Bentley for the Haussner Restaurant in Baltimore, Maryland, titled Haussner’s: The Art Collection