Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2017.

Marine Guard and Pose of Admiral Perry Upon Landing in Japan

Artist Hibata Osuke (Japanese, 1813 - 1870)

CultureJapanese

Date1853

MediumWatercolor

Dimensions10 1/4 × 38 1/4 in. (26 × 97.2 cm)
Overall, Frame: 12 × 40 in. (30.5 × 101.6 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase and Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Victor Spark as a memorial to their son, Donald W. Spark, USMCR, 1923-1944

Object number52.55.3

Not on view

DescriptionWatercolor painting of two scenes. The first "Marine Guard" at right. The second "Pose of Admiral Perry when he landed" with color bearer behind him. Central figure of Marine officer is said to be Major Gillen, USMC. Made at the time of Adm. Perry's visit in 1853.

Label TextProbably after Hibata Ōsuke Japanese, 1813-1870 Marine Guard and Posse of Admiral Perry Upon Landing in Japan, 1854 Watercolor on paper After Admiral Perry had spent some days sounding the harbor of Edo, he landed with a Marine guard to present his letter to the Shôgun. Accoding to his own account, published in 1856, he chose to do so flanked by two heavily armed African American crewmen in his squadron. He did not record their names or status, but a Japanese artist, fascinated by their appearance, documented the arrival on this scroll-like painting on paper subsequently glued to an intricate stretcher. The local daimyō, or lord, Sanada hired actor and Ukiyo-e artist Hibata Ōsuke to document the Perry expedition. Museum purchase and gift of Mr. and Mrs. Victor Spark, as a memorial to their son, Donald W. Spark, USMCR, 1923-1944 52.55.3Exhibition History"The Japan Expedition 1852-1855 of Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry," Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., Oct. 10-Dec. 11, 1968. Union Carbide Building, under the Auspices of the Japan Society, Feb. 17-March 20, 1969. Philadelphia Civic Center, April 5-May 4, 1969. "Inspiring Impressionism: Japanese Prints in the Chrysler Collection," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, March 10 - June 18, 2017. "Come Together, Right Now: The Art of Gathering," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, October 11, 2020 - January 3, 2021.Published ReferencesVirginian Pilot, 11/30/52. AMERICAN HERITAGE, April 1958, in full color. 100 ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION-PERRY SAILING 1952, PROGRAM BOOK COMMEMORATING 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF OPENING OF YOKOHAMA, pub. in Japan, program. Peter Booth Wiley, _Yankees in the Land of the Gods, Commodore Perry and the Opening of Japan_ (New York: Viking Penguin, 1990), 150, 216, 319, 369. David M. Kennedy, Lizabeth Cohen & Thomas A. Bailey, _The American Pageant: A History of The Republic_ Thirteenth Edition (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006), 404. ISBN: 0-618-47927-9