The Empress Dowager, Tze Hsi, of China

Object Details

• Artist

  Katharine Carl (American, 1865-1938)

• Sitter

  Empress Dowager Cixi 慈禧太后 (1835-1908)

• Label

  Arguably the most powerful empress in Chinese history, Empress Dowager Cixi (pronounced tsz xyi) dominated the court and policies of China’s last imperial dynasty for nearly fifty years. She entered the Qing dynasty court as a low-ranking consort, or wife, of the Xianfeng emperor and bore his heir, the Tongzhi emperor. When Tongzhi ascended the throne as a child, Cixi became an empress dowager and an unusually powerful coregent. After Tongzhi died without an heir, Cixi installed her four-year-old nephew as the Guangxu emperor. She thus consolidated her power and served as the de facto leader of the vast Qing empire from 1861 until her death in 1908.

  This portrait of Empress Dowager Cixi captures some of the complexities of her story. Her benign face contradicts Western newspaper reports that declared she had “the soul of a tiger in the body of a woman.” Cixi gained this reputation after supporting a violent uprising that took control of the foreign legations in Beijing in 1900. Two years later she changed her agenda by embracing modernization and fraternizing with foreigners. As a way to polish her image outside China, Cixi invited American artist Katharine A. Carl to create this commanding portrait for display at the 1904 World’s Fair held in St. Louis, Missouri. In a strategic diplomatic move, Cixi had this portrait presented to President Theodore Roosevelt, who in turn had it transferred to the Smithsonian.

• Provenance

  1903-1905

  Empress Dowager Cixi [Tze Hsi], Peking (now Beijing), China, by commission [1]

  February 18, 1905- February 25, 1905

  Department of State, gift from the Government of China in Washington, DC [2]

  February 25, 1905-1926

  Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Division of History, transferred from the Department of State in Washington, DC [3]

  1926-1960

  Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Division of Ethnology, transferred from United States National Museum, Division of History in Washington, DC [4]

  1960-2011

  Smithsonian Institution, National Collection of Fine Arts (later the National Museum of American Art; now the Smithsonian American Art Museum), transferred from the United States National Museum, Division of Ethnology in Washington, DC [5]

  From 2011

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, transfer from the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC [6]

  Notes:

  [1] This painting was commissioned by the Empress Dowager Cixi [Tze Hsi], for the 1904 St. Louis World Exposition and it was painted at the Imperial Palace in Peking (now Beijing), China, by the American artist Katharine Carl (1865-1938). Between June 1904 and December 1904, the painting was exhibited in the Fine Arts Gallery at the St. Louis World Exposition. See “Acquisition Justification,” dated September 2, 2011, copy in object file.

  [2] On February 18, 1905, Liang Cheng (courtesy name Chentung [or Zhendong in pinyin] 梁震东) (1864-1917), known as Sir Chentung Liang-Cheng, Chinese Ambassador to the United States, presents the painting to President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) at a formal ceremony in the Blue Room at the White House. See “Acquisition Justification,” dated September 2, 2011, copy in object file. The US Department of State subsequently sent the painting to the Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, where it became a part of the Division of History’s collection on February 25, 1905. See “Memorandum to Registrar” on Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum letterhead, dated February 25, 1905, United States National Museum accession number 43970, copy in object file.

  [3] See note 2. In 1910, the United States National Museum building was renamed the Art and Industries Building after the new United States National Museum (now the Natural History Museum) opened.

  [4] In a letter to William deC. Ravenel (1859-1933), the Director of the Department of Art and Industries and Division of History, Theodore T. Belote (T. T. Belote) (1881-1953), the Curator of the Division of History, expresses his wish to transfer the painting from its display location in the Arts and Industries Building to the Department of Ethnology in the new United States National Museum building (now the Natural History Museum), where it could be displayed with other Chinese material in that building. Dr. Walter Hough (1859-1935), the Curator of the Department of Ethnology, reportedly confirmed that the move was agreeable. See letter from Theodore T. Belote (T. T. Belote) (1881-1953), Curator, Division of History, to William deC. (de Chastignier) Ravenel (1859-1933), Director, Department of Art and Industries and Division of History, dated December 24, 1925, copy in object file.

  The object was then transferred on January 12, 1926.

  [5] The painting was received by the National Collection of Fine Arts on May 5, 1960. See Smithsonian Institution “Shipping Invoice” from S. H. (Saul Herbert) Riesenberg (1911-1994) of the Division of Ethnology to Thomas M. Beggs (1899-1990) of the National Collection of Fine Arts, dated May 4, 1960, copy in object file.

  In 1980, National Collection of Fine Arts was renamed the National Museum of American Art, and in 2000 it was renamed the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

  Between 1966 and 2011, the painting was on long-term loan to the National Museum of History (now the National Taiwan Museum) in Taipei, Taiwan, usually on public display.

  [6] On April 11, 2011, the object was presented to the Smithsonian American Art Museum Commission and the Commission Member voted in favor of the work being deaccessioned and transferred to the Freer | Sackler Gallery. See also memo from the Smithsonian American Art Museum to the Freer | Sackler Gallery with the subject, “Deaccession of Katharine Augusta Carl’s The Empress Dowager, Tze Hsi, of China,” dated June 22, 2011, copy in object file. See also memo from the Smithsonian American Art Museum to the Freer | Sackler Gallery, titled “Memorandum of Transfer,” dated June 27, 2011, copy in object file. The object was delivered to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in October 2011. See Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, “Incoming Receipt,” dated October 15, 2011, copy in object file.

  Research updated February 23, 2023

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Empresses of China's Forbidden City, 1644-1912 (August 18, 2018 to June 23, 2019)

  Untitled Exhibition, National Museum of History, Taipei (1966 to 2011)

  Louisiana Purchase Exposition, 1904 World's Fair (April 30 to December 1, 1904)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Empress Dowager Cixi 慈禧太后 (1835-1908)

  US Department of State

  Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Division of History

  Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Division of Ethnology

  Smithsonian American Art Museum (founded 1906)

• Origin

  Peking [Beijing], China

• Credit Line

  Transfer from the Smithsonian American Art Museum

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1900s

• Name

  Smithsonian American Art Museum, Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Division of History, US Department of State, Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Division of Ethnology, Cixi, Empress Dowager

• Place

  United States, Peking [Beijing]

• Topic

  Art, American Art, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), Portraits, Empress dowager, Ruler

• Culture

  Americans

• Object Type

  Paintings