August Belmont and Isabel Perry

The Prussian Jewish banker August Belmont (left) was a noted sportsman, arts patron, and diplomat. He arrived in New York City as an agent of the Rothschild banking family during the economic crisis known as the Panic of 1837. Within a decade, he was one of New York’s wealthiest men. After serving as Austria’s consul general to the United States (1844–50), Belmont held diplomatic posts in the Netherlands (1853–57), returning home with a large art collection.

The Dutch artist Wouterus Verschuur, a horse painting specialist, portrayed Belmont in The Hague, engaged in the sport of carriage driving with
his sister-in-law, Isabella Bolton Perry. Belmont’s wife, Caroline Slidell Perry (daughter of naval hero Matthew Perry), and three children ride in another carriage. A prominent breeder of thoroughbred horses, Belmont financed (and lent his name to) the Belmont Stakes in 1867, the earliest of three races that now constitute the Triple Crown.