Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2017.

Admiral Matthew C. Perry and Members of His Company on Their Visit to Japan

Attribution Hibata Osuke (Japanese, 1813 - 1870)

CultureJapanese

Date1853

MediumWatercolor

Dimensions12 × 50 3/4 in. (30.5 × 128.9 cm)
Overall, Frame: 13 3/4 × 52 1/2 × 1 1/2 in. (34.9 × 133.4 × 3.8 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 number52.55.2

Not on view

DescriptionWatercolor painting of Admiral Perry & members of his company at the time of his visit to Japan in 1853. Under glass in a narrow black wooden frame a little larger than the mounted painting. Some individual portraits. More information in 1952 jacket. Portraits represent from right to left: Am. Embassy Mr. Perry age 55; Am. Assistant Mr. Adams age 60; Secretary-Interpreter Mr. Williams-good at Japanese; Secretary-Interpreter Mr. Portman-good at Dutch; Lt. Oliver Hazard Perry; and Capt. Abbott. Mr. Williams was Samuel Williams.

Label TextAfter Hibata Ōsuke Japanese, 1813-1870 Admiral Matthew C. Perry and Members of His Company on Their Visit to Japan, 1854 Watercolor on paper These portraits of Perry's delegation include Captain Joel Abbot, Perry's son Oliver, the Dutch language translator Anton Portman, the Japanese translator S. Wells Williams, Commander Henry Adams, and Admiral Perry. The Japanese artist Hibata Ōsuke especially responded to the foreigner's blue eyes, facial hair, and large noses. Foreign faces had long been fascinating to artists, since Japan had closed itself to trade and travelers for more than 200 years. The Chrysler's four scrolls are among the best surviving watercolor versons or copies of Ōsuke's images. Museum purchase and gift of Mr. and Mrs. Victor Spark, as a memorial to their son, Donald W. Spark, USMCR, 1923-1944 52.55.2Exhibition HistorySmithsonian Exhibit, "The Japan Expedition 1852-1855 of Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry," 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.Published ReferencesU.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE PROCEEDINGS, July 1953, each portrait printed separately & published. 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.