Celebrating Thirty Years of East Asian Collections

Lucy Monroe Calhoun family photographs and papers, 1886-1973 and undated.

Lucy Monroe Calhoun (1865-1950) was a freelance art critic before her marriage to William J. Calhoun, the United States Minister to China. While in China, Lucy became the unofficial “First Lady” of the diplomatic corps and photographed sights in and around Beijing, including her spacious “temple house.”  This home, a former temple built in 1789, was a well-known gathering place for American and European scholars. 

The Calhoun Collection includes 740 black-and-white photographs, featuring the Calhoun residence in Beijing and locations in and around Beijing and throughout China. Her papers include her memoir of life in China and five typescript articles on China. Shown here is the presentation box with images of the Calhoun home in Beijing.