America: Van Reed

Closely resembling the larger painting on silk displayed to the right, this woodblock print was created around the same time by the same artist. The red cartouche on the left identifies the rider as Van Reed, but the composition and color differ in several ways. For example, Van Reed sits upon a brown horse instead of a black one and holds his bridle in the opposite hand. The groom below wears Western clothing and stands to the side of the horse rather than in front. Instead of a plain background in the painting, the bustling street life of the foreign quarter in Yokohama can be seen here.
The artist Hashimoto Sadahide assumed various sobriquets such as Utagawa Sadahide, Gyokuransai, Gountei, and Gyokuo. For this print, he used the name “Gountei Sadahide.” Sadahide created many prints of the foreign quarters of Yokohama, where Van Reed lived, and depicted its inhabitants and the imports they brought. The artist also later produced a six-volume illustrated reportage, Observations on the Opening of Yokohama, that includes a two-page spread of Van Reed riding his horse. Unlike most of the figures that appear in Sadahide’s works, Van Reed is named, suggesting that the artist may have known his sitter.