ABSTRACT
A small, curious canvas painted by the artist Enoch Wood Perry, Jr., shows a group of figures gathered at a hotel. What immediately strikes the viewer about the painting is the way the artist has cleverly designed the composition so that none of the figures’ heads is visible. Details in The True American provide clues about the identities of the various headless figures in the painting. Hands, when pictured, suggest that the figures are white, and their clothing marks them as male. Like Eastman Johnson and many other American painters of this generation, Perry pursued artistic training in Düsseldorf, heading to the city by way of London in 1852 to study in Emanuel Leutze’s studio. The American Art-Union apparently played a significant role in Perry’s decision to study there. Art-Union purchased War News From Mexico in 1849 and hired Alfred Jones to make two engraved reproductions, the larger of which the organization distributed to its members.
