The Ameya

In 1890, Scribner's Magazine dispatched American painter Robert Frederick Blum to Japan to illustrate a series of articles (written by Sir Edwin Arnold)^[1] the magazine was publishing. Blum occupied a small house in Tokyo for two years, and traveled through the country in search of scenes to illustrate.^[2][1]

The Ameya was created by Blum during the later period of his stay in Japan. The work depicts an ameya, a candy maker practicing the art of Amezaiku; Blum himself described the ameya's work as being akin to glassblowing.^[2]

Following his return to the United States, Blum's work was well received, particularly at the 1893 exhibition of the National Academy of Design^[3]—Blum later credited The Ameya with securing his election to the Academy.^[4] A critic for the New York Times praised the work's use of multiple subjects in varied dress, and described it as being "admirably painted".^[3] Other sources have cited Ameya as being an example of Blum's ability to convincingly render groups of figures in his illustrations.^[3]

The painting was once owned by Alfred Corning Clark, whose estate donated it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1904.^[2]