Charles Freer and his passion for the East (part I)

American industrialist Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919) was interested in ancient cultures, collecting works of art and various artifacts related to middle Eastern and Asian civilizations. Towards the end of his life, the patron bequeathed a significant portion of the collection to the Smithsonian institution, where it can be seen to this day. In the early years of his life, he worked in a cement factory, then got a job as a clerk in a store. Eventually, he became an accountant, and in 1885, along with Frank Hecker (Frank J. Hecker) created the Peninsular Car Company, which brought him a lot of money.

Freer's interests were influenced by the American painter James Whistler and the orientalist philosopher Ernest Fenollosa. The collector was friends with Whistler, and it is believed that it was thanks to the artist that Freer began to purposefully collect works related to Asia. Now it is difficult to say, since the first purchases of Japanese paintings were made in 1887, a few years before they met. Whistler probably helped Freer collect works by other American artists, their contemporaries: Abbott Thayer, Thomas Dewing, and others.

In 1901, Freer began working closely with Ernest Fenellosa, who was so interested in China and Japan that he converted to Buddhism. He advised the collector, gave various tips, sharing knowledge about the history and theory of art. In 1901-1908, Freer acquired a huge number of Japanese works, a small part of which is presented below. Thanks to his knowledge of the orientalist, Freer knew which items to pay attention to and which not to buy. Thus, it has a great advantage over competitors in the art market. In gratitude, the businessman helped Penelope with the organization of performances. Read more about the collection of Charles Freer in the next publication in the category "Collections and collectors".