Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-18
FIRST TO PAINT TS| AN
American Girl, Katherine Carl,
Has Distinction.
REPRODUCED IN THE STAR
Artist Shown Exceptional Honors by
Empress Dowager.
HAS WRITTEN OF EXPERIENCE
Impressions of Aged Ruler Pleasant.
Made Several Portraits in Oil
and Also Photographs.

The first and almost only portrait of
the dowager, Isl An. ever made was
painted by an American girl. Katherine
A. Carl. 1t is now in the National Mu-
scum at Washington. present from the
empress to the President of the United
States
1t was painted in 1908. Many attempts
have been made to secure reproductions
of it.
1t was not till yesterday that the pic
ture was copied. through the courtesy
of the museum officials to The Star The
portrait appeared Monday in The Star.
Miss Carl was introduced to the dow
ager through Mrs. Conger, wife of the
then American minister in Peking. She
had not gone to China with view to
paint the empress and was as much as
tonished as any one else at receiving the
summons.
1T was against Chinese tradition for
any picture ever to be made of Il Chinese
ruler. Court functionaries predicted dis
aster when the dowager decided to have
the picture painted. 1t was done, how
ever.
Other Portraits Made.
No fearful results following. the en-
press had Miss Carl make two other por-
traits. Seeing how easy photography
was compared with portrait painting, she
had a number of photographs made. one
of which she presented to Mrs. Long
worth, when. as Alice Roosevelt, she
visited Picking.
Miss Carl was kept at the palace at
Picking for months. and went with the
court and the dowager to the summer
palace and thence back to Peking, paint
ing when the notion took her royal
patron, and resting meanwhile in fairy
land of oriental spendOr.
She says of her stay at the Chinese
court that it was the most remarka BILE
and. in many ways. the most enjoyable
experience of her life. She did not pro-
fess to be either an orientalist nor a
student of politics, so her views of the
dowager and the young emperor were
those of woman and guest She said
that she found the dowager not only
beautiful after the Chinese notion but
considerate, kind and generous.
She says that in 1903, when the en-
press was sixtyeight years old. she would
not appear to be more than forty. Be
ing widow, she did not use cosmetics,
and her skin showed clear and healthy
al that of a girl
Her black hair was dressed with satin
ribbon. The artist said 1t was difficult
to tell where the satin left off and the
hair began.
Eye Tor CO1or.
She seemed an excellent judge of dress
and color effects. Once or twice she
added a flower or touch of color to one
of the artists costumes when she thought
it needful These suggestions. the artist
said, were always skillful even from
professional viewpoint.
Life in the palace, with its marble ter
races, lakes. islands. canals and shrub
berry was d continually changing pic
ture. The artist has described it all
since in writing. But the points of most
interest to present readers are the little
sideights of character that are to be
found in the description.
She says the empress was lover OF
dogs and had a number-chows and Chi
neSe pugs-but that she disliked the stunt
ed little sleeve dogs, saying it was in
human to dwarf an animals growth. as
is done with these, through feeding them
sweets and wines. She disliked cats, and
all those kept in the palace were care
fully prevented from crossing her path.
The empress liked old manners and
customs and preferred her state barge
for voyages about the palace lakes She
had new steam launch put in at the
time of Miss Carts visit, and was willing
to make a voyage in it, indicating that
she was not narrow in her conservatism.
On the first trip of the launch there
were two accidents. 1t ran aground, to
the great terror of the engineer and
other officials. The empress made light
of the accident and exacted no penalty
from the incompetent engineer.
When the portrait was finally finished
it was shipped abroad in satin-lined
box and treated with as much state and
ceremony as though it had been royalty
itself. The frame in which it may now
be seen at the museum is the design of
the dowager and was executed by palace
wood carverS.