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Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
Patricia Hills, PhD, Founder and Director | Abigael MacGibeny, MA, Project Manager

Catalogue Entry

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Image courtesy of the Frick Art Reference Library
[ 44.3 Euro Portrait Drawings, Women ]info
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44.3 Euro Portrait Drawings, Women

Johnson continued drawing portraits in charcoal after he arrived in Europe. However, the currently located charcoal portrait drawings of American women friends were all executed in The Hague, and those portraits returned to the United States. Similar to the situation of the commissioned charcoal portraits of men, those works of European women remained in Europe. —PH

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Hills no. 44.3.1
Baur no. 299
Caroline Slidell Perry Belmont
Alternate titles: Mrs. August Belmont; Mrs. August Belmont (Caroline Slidell Perry)
c.1853
Locale: The Hague, the Netherlands
Charcoal on brown paper
25 x 21 in. (63.5 x 53.3 cm)
Unidentified owner, on loan to Museum of the City of New York (L1888.3)
Description / Remarks

Hills, 2022: The Belmont drawings probably were done in the Netherlands, when August Belmont was Ambassador from the United States. The date would therefore be about 1853 when Johnson did a portrait of their small son, Perry.

Caroline was the daughter of Admiral Matthew Perry, who, under orders from President Fillmore, sailed into Tokyo Harbor on July 8, 1853, with the official purpose of opening up trade with Japan after centuries of Japan’s isolationism.  Japanese art, which began to flood the market in the West, made a strong impact on American and European artists.  Johnson’s delicate drawing, where he portrays Caroline with flowers in her hair, is unique in his oeuvre and may therefore indicate the influence of Japanese art. 

Provenance
Perry Belmont, Newport, Rhode Island, son of the sitter (by descent); placed on loan with Museum of the City of New York, 1936
August Belmont IV, his grandnephew, 1995 (by bequest); continued on loan to Museum of the City of New York
Unidentified legatee; continues on loan to Museum of the City of New York
References
Kennedy Galleries 1920
Catalogue of an Exhibition of Charcoal Drawings by Eastman Johnson. New York: Kennedy Galleries, 1920. Exhibition catalogue (1920 Kennedy Galleries), p. 11, addendum "Paintings by Eastman Johnson," as Mrs. August Belmont.
Baur 1940
Baur, John I. H. An American Genre Painter: Eastman Johnson, 1824–1906. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, 1940. Exhibition catalogue (1939 Brooklyn Museum), p. 74, no. 299, as Mrs. August Belmont (Caroline Slidell Perry).
Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): February 15, 2017
Examination notes: Hills note on photo, early 1970s: Delicate drawing, flowers in hair - would never imagine it to be Johnson except for the provenance

2017: In poor condition judging from FARL photo.
Sitter Biography
Sitter: Belmont, Caroline Slidell Perry
Biography:

Caroline Slidell Perry Belmont (1829–1892). Daughter of Admiral Commodore Perry; wife of August Belmont.

Keywords
Record last updated May 9, 2022. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Caroline Slidell Perry Belmont, c.1853 (Hills no. 44.3.1)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=916 (accessed on May 4, 2024).